The Awareness Center closed. We operated from April 30, 1999 - April 30, 2014. This site is being provided for educational & historical purposes.
We were the international Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse/Assault (JCASA); and were dedicated to ending sexual violence in Jewish communities globally. We did our best to operate as the make a wish foundation for Jewish survivors of sex crimes. In the past we offered a clearinghouse of information, resources, support and advocacy.

PORT HURON -- High on alcohol, marijuana and Quaaludes, Ajax Ackerman left a party, got behind the wheel of a van and smashed into a telephone pole.

He nearly died -- and was sorry he hadn't. With the past decade lost to drugs and alcohol, the next 10 years looked hopeless too.

Ten years later: At 41, Ackerman still sports a beard flowing down to his chest, hair tied in a ponytail reaching halfway down his back, two earrings in his left ear. He still goes by his nickname, after the warrior Ajax in a movie about street gangs. He still prefers to ride his Harley-Davidson and wear leather biker duds.

But as he strolls into the police department from his office upstairs, captains and secretaries alike rush to greet him.

"Hey, Mayor," says Capt. Brian Moeller.

"I've got a problem with this city income tax. My kid's got to pay for her paper route because she made over $600."

For Port Huron Mayor Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman, it's been some kind of journey.

Born to an alcoholic mother, addicted to booze at 14, a wild kid whose parents moved to Florida to get away from him -- today he's the leader of a largely conservative city, a role model for kids, motivation for others trying to break free of their addictions.

When he's not busy helping to run the city of 37,000, he works part-time as an aide at a mental health center, runs his own youth and adult center, and volunteers at an HIV/AIDS clinic and a runaway shelter.

"I think he's going to end up being one of best mayors Port Huron ever had," says fellow city council member Cliff Schrader, who calls himself a good friend of Ackerman.

"He's a very open gentleman. He really thinks deeply about issues -- how they impact citizens, kids."

He didn't always think so.

Taken by the state from his alcoholic mother and adopted at 18 months, Ackerman was what his sister calls "the evilest child" she had ever seen.

"He was in trouble from day one," DeAnn Fierman says. "It was an attention-getting device."

Today, Ackerman says, he knows part of his problem resulted from attention deficit disorder. But back in the 1960s, he was just "hyperactive."

At 14, Ackerman left suburban Detroit for a military academy in Illinois. He found the increased structure helped -- until some seniors sneaked beer into the barracks and asked him to keep watch. In return, they gave him one.

"It was ice cold, the most wonderful thing I tasted in my life," he says. "Some of the pleasure in that beer was symbolic. It opened the door to life for me."

He bought eight more beers from the older students.

"I was fascinated with myself -- the ego lift, esteem lift. I went in the bathroom to watch myself drink that beer."

He threw up, slept in his vomit, woke up with a hangover. And he was hooked.

In 1972, his sophomore year, he returned home, enrolled at Oak Park High School, and got high on whatever he could get: marijuana, mescaline, Quaaludes, cocaine.

"Being cool was so important to me, being tough was so important -- and I could be that person when I was high," he says.

Still, he made it through high school and then two semesters of college. After that he joined the Navy -- but was kicked out 10 months later because of his drinking.

The next 10 years -- all of his 20s -- were pretty much lost to drinking and drugs.

He spent 57 days in jail after getting into a fight. His parents, after years of trying to get him out of trouble, had enough. They fled to Florida.

'He got in with a rough bunch, there was peer pressure, he felt he had to go along with it," says his father, Charles Ackerman. "We couldn't control him then."

By the time he was 30, Ackerman had been in and out of four rehabilitation centers. That year he married a woman who also used drugs, and they had a daughter. But the booze and cocaine came between them and by the time he was 31, she moved out, taking their baby with her.

Months later, Ackerman crashed into a telephone pole. He ended up in traction with one leg fractured in seven places. Both arms were broken. His ankle was put back together with screws.

"When I went to see him in the hospital, he told me he messed up again. Not because of the accident, but because he didn't die," his sister says.

Release from the hospital meant a return to drugs. And when Ackerman found that snorting cocaine no longer gave him a quick enough high, he shot it directly into his veins.

Until the day when even that wasn't enough.

On the day that would be his turning point, Ackerman stuck half a gram of cocaine in his arm -- and felt nothing.

"I knew at that point my world was crumbling, drugs weren't working anymore. I was in a lot of trouble," he says.

"But I also realized of all the things I had done in my life, one thing I had never done is give life a chance."

Getting straight took a month-long stay in another rehabilitation center.

A year later, he had one last relapse, a three-day drinking binge in Florida.

But he says that strengthened his resolve to get sober and stay sober.

"I saw my life in the balance and knew I had to make a choice," he says. "At that point, I began the road back up."

With his newfound determination, he patched up his relationship with his family.

"He didn't start living until after he was 30," his father says. "He finally saw the light and wanted to live and didn't want to go through any more than he already had."

Soon after he cleaned up his act, in October 1987, he fell in love with a woman from Port Huron and moved back north. She left him, but he stayed.

For a time, he was homeless -- but resolute. Living in a shelter, he borrowed money and textbooks for community college classes, graduated with honors, and later enrolled at Eastern Michigan University. He's six credits shy of earning his bachelor's degree in public law and government.

While in school, Ackerman got a job working with runaways at a shelter, where he still volunteers today. He also took an internship in the county prosecutor's office, where he began building political ties and saw things in government he thought he could change -- especially programs involving young people.

And he helped found a sober motorcycle club -- one whose members raise money for drug intervention programs in the community and go to schools to talk to kids about the dangers of gangs, violence and substance abuse.

About four years ago, he met Nancee Armstrong when he went to talk to her alternative education class.

"I thought that he had a great message to give to young people," Armstrong says. "It's rare that youth identifies with anything adults do."

The two married in 1996.

The childhood home of Thomas Edison, Port Huron is a conservative city that lies along the St. Clair River, right across from Canada. Lots of residents work for the local hospital, or the county, or the school district, or the electric utility. Others work for small manufacturing companies or in the service industry, or commute an hour to jobs in Detroit.

A long-haired, tattooed, earring-wearing, ex-druggie guy on a Harley tends to stand out.

But Ackerman says his looks also helped establish his place in the community.

"I was a good liaison between youth and adults because I refused to grow up," he says. "I didn't cut my hair, I didn't shave my beard.

"Kids gravitate to me -- I'm not another suit."

Then the adults took notice. In 1994, the National Association of Social Workers named Ackerman the Michigan Public Citizen of the Year for his work in the community.

A year later, he ran for city council and lost -- but was appointed last summer when another member stepped down. When he ran again in November, he topped the 14-candidate field. As is tradition in Port Huron, which has a city-manager form of government, as the candidate with the most votes he was appointed mayor by the rest of the council.

Though the mayor doesn't hold any more power than other council members, the position comes with added responsibilities such as running the meetings and working with local businesses on economic development projects.

Ackerman is the first to say he's more comfortable in his biker leathers than in a business suit. But looks aren't everything.

"It takes about 30 seconds talking to the mayor to see he's an articulate, intelligent individual," says Todd Brian, executive director of the St. Clair County Industrial Development Corporation.

"He makes good business decisions. His looks will have no real impact at all."

Walking along Main Street, folks stop to greet the mayor and discuss the issue of the day -- state-mandated sewer separation.

An elderly couple, Dorothy and William Smith, are leaving a candy store-soda shop when they meet up with Ackerman.

They never met the man in black leather before, but are happy to chat for a few minutes. After all, they watch him every other week on the televised city council meetings and say they feel like they know him.

Before every council meeting, Ackerman stands outside, smoking his unfiltered Camel cigarettes ("From all the things I've done, this is the last one that's got to go -- I just don't know when") and greeting residents.

One night, some students from an alternative education program are being honored for winning a national contest in which they turned $10,000 in play money into $1 million on the stock exchange. Several of the teens stop to shake Ackerman's hand.

"Hey, Ajax, what's up?," says one boy as he introduces a friend to the mayor.

"Way to go," Ackerman replies. "I'm proud of you guys."

For the mayor, his memories of his own wayward youth still vivid, being able to give special encouragement to young people is gratifying.

That's why he and his wife run Clear Choices, a center where young people and adults can go to get off the street and talk to someone.

"Our goal is never to tell somebody 'don't do drugs.' We provide them with information so they can make good, clear choices," Ackerman says. "Whatever choice they make, they have to accept the consequence of that choice."

Nicole Oswald was 14 when she met Ackerman through a drug intervention program at school. Now 19, she works as an office assistant at a factory in Yale, a small town north of Port Huron.

Ackerman, she says, helped her in many ways.

"He helped me focus on points of why I should be in school, where I wanted my life to go, how I wanted to go there," she says. "He made me think about things on my own that I needed to think about.

"He's a very cool guy."

Ackerman's boss at Community Mental Health, Jim Johnson, says one of the reasons he hired Ackerman is because of his investment with children.

"He has real insight, particularly because of his chaotic life. He sees what families need and what's the best path to take to help them," Johnson says.

And there's another thing.

"Kids love to seem him pull up on his Harley."

Despite his success, life still is not easy for Ackerman.

He continues to attend weekly 12-step meetings, and leads three groups himself each week.

His part-time job doesn't always pay the bills and he owes money on his college loans. His first wife rarely lets him see his daughter, Candace, who is now 11, and he gets upset when the subject comes up.

Juggling his family, city duties, job and volunteer work is tough, too.

But he doesn't regret for one moment his crazy schedule.

"We only keep what we have by giving it away," he says.

And when he adds it all up, life is very good.

His loving relationship with his wife is one key. Carved in his wedding band in Hebrew are the words "Ani l'dodi v'dodi li." From the song of psalms, it means "I am my beloved and my beloved is me."

Then there's the pride that goes with the title of mayor -- especially what it means to his family.

"My parents sat by and suffered. This made them feel like it was worthwhile," he says. "Their patience paid off."

To his sister, Ackerman is "the living proof you can change your life and turn it around."

"You don't have to be wealthy. You don't have to be lucky. You have to work at it and he did."

Rebirth: Gerald 'Ajax' Ackerman started drinking at 14 and lost a
decade to liquor and drugs. But he's come back in a big way: Last year
he was appointed mayor of his town of 37,000.

PORT
HURON, Mich. — High on marijuana, Quaaludes and alcohol, Ajax Ackerman
left a party, got behind the wheel of a van and smashed into a telephone
pole.

He nearly died--and was sorry he hadn't. With the previous decade lost to addictions, the decade ahead looked hopeless too.

Ten
years later: At 41, Ackerman still has a flowing beard, hair tied in a
ponytail reaching halfway down his back, two earrings in his left ear.
He still goes by his nickname, after the warrior Ajax in a movie about
street gangs. He still rides his Harley-Davidson and wears black leather
biker duds.

But as he strolls into the police department, officers and secretaries alike rush to greet him."Hey, Mayor," says Capt. Brian Moeller.

For Port Huron Mayor Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman, it's been some kind of journey.

Born
to an alcoholic mother, a drunk himself at 14, today he's the leader of
a city of 37,000, a role model for kids, motivation for others trying
to break free of their addictions. He works part-time at a mental health
center, runs a drug counseling facility and volunteers at a shelter for
runaways.

Taken by the state from his mother and adopted at 18 months, he was "the evilest child," recalls his sister, DeAnn Fierman.

"He was in trouble from Day 1," she says. "It was an attention-getting device."

Today, Ackerman says, he knows part of his problem was attention deficit disorder. Back in the 1960s, he was just "hyperactive."

At
14, Ackerman left suburban Detroit for a military academy in Illinois.
The increased structure helped--until some seniors sneaked beer into the
barracks and asked him to keep watch. In return, they gave him one.

"It
was ice cold, the most wonderful thing I tasted in my life," he says.
"Some of the pleasure in that beer was symbolic. It opened the door to
life for me."

He bought eight more beers from the older students.

"I was fascinated with myself-- the ego lift, esteem lift. I went in the bathroom to watch myself drink that beer."

He threw up, slept in his vomit, woke with a hangover. And he was hooked.

In 1972, his sophomore year, he returned home and got high on whatever he could get: marijuana, mescaline, Quaaludes, cocaine.

"Being cool was so important to me, being tough was so important. And I could be that person when I was high," he says.

After
abortive runs at college, which he left after two semesters, and the
Navy, which kicked him out for drinking, Ackerman entered a 10-year
period--his 20s--that was pretty much lost to drinking and drugs.

He
spent 57 days in jail following a fight. His parents, after years of
trying to get him out of trouble, had had enough. They moved to Florida.

"He
got in with a rough bunch, there was peer pressure, he felt he had to
go along with it," says his father, Charles Ackerman. "We couldn't
control him then."

By age 30, Ackerman had been in four
rehabilitation centers. He married, but booze and cocaine ended that
after a year; he was 31 when his wife moved out, taking their baby.

Around
then, he crashed into the telephone pole. One leg was fractured in
seven places. Both arms were broken. His ankle was put back together
with screws.

"When I went to see him in the hospital, he told me
he messed up again. Not because of the accident, but because he didn't
die," his sister says.

On the day that would be the turning point
in his bitter journey, Ackerman stuck half a gram of cocaine in his
arm--and felt nothing.

It was a few months after his release from
the hospital, and he'd gone from snorting to shooting the drug. Then
even that didn't work.

He saw two choices: Get help, or kill himself.

"My
world was crumbling," he says. "But I also realized of all the things I
had done in my life, one thing I had never done is give life a chance."

Getting
straight began with a monthlong stay in another rehabilitation center,
then constant vigilance. His one relapse, a three-day drinking binge in
1987, strengthened his resolve, he says.

"He didn't start living until after he was 30," says his father, with whom he has reconciled.About
10 years ago, Ackerman settled in Port Huron. For a time, he lived in a
shelter. He borrowed money for community college classes, graduated
with honors. Now he's six credits away from a degree from Eastern
Michigan University.

He's studying government, but his interest in politics developed independently.

Working
with runaways at a shelter, then serving as an intern in the county
prosecutor's office, he saw things he thought he could change,
especially programs involving young people.

"He has real insight,
particularly because of his chaotic life," says Jim Johnson, who hired
Ackerman at Community Mental Health.

ABSTRACT: Mayor Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman was charged in warrants Tuesday with the rape and attempted rape of two girls.

Ackerman, who runs a youth center, was arrested Tuesday and was to be
arraigned today on first-degree criminal sexual conduct with an
11-year-old girl and attempted first-degree criminal sexual conduct with
a 12-year-old, Police Capt. Brian Moeller said.

The warrant charges that Ackerman committed the acts over the past few
months at Clear Choices, a rehabilitation center he runs, Moeller said.

ARRESTED
MAYOR: Port Huron Gerald `Ajax' Ackerman is surrounded by St. Clair
County Sheriff's deputies and city police officers as he is led into the
St. Clair County District Court Wednesday in Port Huron, Mich., for his
arraignment on 14 counts of sexual misconduct involving children.

PORT HURON, Mich. (AP) — Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman resigned as mayor following his arraignment on 14 counts of sexual misconduct involving children — which sent shock waves through this city an hour north of Detroit.

"This community just feels violated," City Council member Cliff Schrader said.

Ackerman, honored five years ago by the National Association of Social Workers, became mayor — a mostly ceremonial role, since the city has a city manager to run the government — in 1997.

Ackerman never looked like a typical mayor, with his long flowing red beard, ponytail and leather duds. He didn't have the background of a typical mayor, either. He admitted he's a for- mer drug and alcohol addict and liked to ride motorcycles.

And for this conservative city of 37,000, electing such a man to the mayor's seat took what Schrader described as "a lot of trust."

That trust was shattered as the man who used his story of struggle to overcome drug and alcohol addiction to help young people himself stood charged with sexual misconduct involv ing children he counseled.

The usually flamboyant and outspoken Ackerman stood silent during his arraignment Wednesday in a crowded courtroom.

Ackerman, 42, was charged with six counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, five counts of criminal sexual conduct, two counts of production of child abusive material and one count of indecent expo- sure. The charges involve four girls, ages 9 to 14, police Capt. Brian Moeller said.

Ackerman was accused of taking pornographic photos of some of the girls and appearing with them in some, Moeller said. He said police spent four hours Tuesday night searching Clear Choices, a counseling facility that Ackerman runs, and took two computers from it.

Ackerman, for whom the judged entered an innocent plea, was released Wednesday night on $25,000 bond.

Since he moved here in the late 1980s, he has been consid ered a role model for kids and motivation for others trying to break free of their addictions.

"We really opened up to Ajax and his past," City Council member Anita Ashford said. But Wednesday, those who once welcomed him voiced outrage; others expressed disbelief.

"I feel he kind of let his community down," said Donna Stranyak, a 36-year-old wait- ress at the downtown Cavis Cafe.

One of her patrons, Randy Arnott, a 47-year-old laborer and longtime resident, doesn't believe the charges. "I just can't see him do that," he said. "They don't know if he did it. ... It could be some kind of hoax."

If convicted, Ackerman could face life in prison, but would more likely get a 16-to-23-year prison sentence, St. Clair County Assistant Prosecutor Mona Sayed said.

Police said Ackerman was arrested following an investigation into complaints by the girls' parents. The alleged abuse occurred between August and March, Sayed said.

An alcoholic at 14, he was in and out of rehabilitation facili- ties for most of his 20s before sobering up.

Since moving to Port Huron, he has worked part-time at a mental health center and an HIV/AIDS clinic, opened Clear Choices and volunteered at a shelter for runaways.

PORT HURON (AP) -- When the man with the long hair, earrings and bushy beard first ran for a City Council seat, he lost.

To many in this conservative city of 37,000 on the shores of Lake Huron, his appearance "didn't look good," said 38-year-old Cathy Johnson.

But Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman quickly won the hearts -- and more importantly, the trust -- of the people here, about an hour north of Detroit.

"Kids gravitate to me -- I'm not another suit," Ackerman once said. Adults clearly took to him, too, because in his second try for public office, he got the most votes in the November 1997 city council election, giving him the ceremonial role of mayor.

But now those who thought they knew the flamboyant mayor feel betrayed.

The man who prefers to ride motorcycles and wear leather is charged with 14 counts of sexual misconduct involving children. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Ackerman's past includes drug and alcohol abuse and a prison record. And this latest hurdle may be too high for those who put aside their prejudices for the man considered a role model.

"We really opened up to Ajax and his past," said Councilwoman Anita Ashford. "I don't look back on it with regret.

"He did his job."

Thursday, Ackerman submitted his letter of resignation. Mayor Pro Tem Steven Miller was sworn in as the new mayor.

"I believe in my city. We have been known to just pick up and move forward," Ashford said.

The business of the city may move on, but his colleagues and friends may have a tougher time coping.

"We're dealing with the personal side of this," said Councilman Cliff Schrader.

"We wish there is something we could do help him, but at the same time we feel he's crossed the line if it's true."

For Johnson, who sent her 6-year-old daughter Lindsey to a center for children and adults run by Ackerman, it may not make a difference whether the allegations are proved true or false.

"She'll never go again," Johnson said. "I thought she was in good hands. ...I'm even nervous about sending her to Brownies."

Ackerman pleaded innocent Wednesday to six counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, five counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, two counts of production of child abusive material and one count of indecent exposure. He was released on $25,000 bond and is due back in court April 20.

The charges involve four girls: a 9-year-old, two 11-year-olds and a 14-year-old.

It's not the first time Ackerman has been in trouble with authorities -- but it's been a while.

More than a decade ago, he wrecked a car while high on drugs. Another time, he spent nearly two months in jail after getting into a fight.

But after spending most of his twenties as an addict, he pulled himself up and put himself through college. He used his story to help others overcome their addictions and quickly became a fixture of community leadership in Port Huron.

Since moving to Port Huron, he has worked part-time at a mental health center and an HIV/AIDS clinic and volunteered at a shelter for runaways.

He helped found a sober motorcycle club -- one whose members raise money for drug intervention programs and go to schools to talk to kids about the dangers of gangs, violence and substance abuse.

But now, the positive reputation his good works have brought him over the past decade is shattered.

"I thought he was trying to give something back to the community," said Tim Fayed, 30, a bartender. "(Now) I think he's a hypocrite."

He doesn't have the background of the typical mayor, either. He admits he's a former drug and alcohol addict who prefers to ride motorcycles.

For this close-knit city of 37,000, electing such a man to the mayor's seat took what one council man described as "a lot of trust".

That trust may have been shattered Wednesday, as the man who used his story of struggle to help young people was charged with 14 counts of sexual misconduct involving children.

"This community just feels violated," said City Council member Cliff Schrader. "They put a lot of faith and trust in Ajax."

The usually flamboyant and outspoken Ackerman stood silent during his arraignement in a courtroom crowded with more than 5 people. He was released on $25,000 bond after the judge entered an innocent plea on his behalf.

Ackerman, 42, was charged with six counts of first-degree criminal sexual misconduct, two counts of production of child abusive materials and one count of indecent exposure. The charges involve four girls, agaes 9, 14, and two who are 11, police Capt. Brian Moeller said.

Ackerman is accused of taking pornographic photos of some of hte girls and appearing with them in some, Moeller said. Police spent four hours Tuesday night searching Clear Choices, a counseling facitliy that Ackerman runs, and confiscated two computers.

"She enjoyed going there. They played games –– they just made Easter bunnies," Johnson said. "She though the world of him. She'll never go again."

Ackerman honored five years ago by the National Association of Social Workers, became mayor –– a mostly ceremonial role, since the city has a city-manger form of governement –– in 1997.

Since he moved here in the late 1980s, he has been considered a role model for kids and a motivation for others trying to break free of their addictions. He has worked part-time at a mental health center and a HIV/AIDS clinic, opened Clearn Choices and volunteered at a shelter for runaways.

Those who once welcomed him to this community about an hour north of Detroit voiced outrage Wednesday, while other expressed disbelief.

"I feel he kind of let his community down," said Donna Stranyak, 36, a waitress a the downtwon Cavis Cafe.

One of her patrons, Randy Arnott, 47, a laborer and longtime resident, doesn't believe the charges.

"I just can't see him do that, "he said". "It could be some kind of hoax."

If convicted, Ackerman could face life in prison, but would more likely get a 16 to 23-year prison sentence, said prosecutor Mona Sayed.

An alcoholic at 14, Ackerman was in and out of rehabilitation facilities for most of his 20s before sobering up.

He is separated from his wife, and the two are seeking a divorce. He has a 12-year-old daughter from a preivious marriage.

Nothing in the city charter calls for the mayor's removal because of felony charges, but City Council member Anita Ashford said she thinks he should resign as a "last action of courage."

Crytsal Wrubel, 27, a mortgage loan processor, said she thinks the communty will rally around Ackerman. There's so many kids and so many people who look up to him," she said.

But schrader isn't sure how the community will react.

"You reach out and you turst somebody and that trust is violated –– and how do you trust again?" he said.

PORT HURON,
Mich. - This city's former mayor was charged Friday with eight
additional counts of sexual misconduct involving children, bringing to
22 the charges he faces in a scandal that led to his resignation.

The latest charges - all misdemeanors - accuse Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman
of seven counts of indecent exposure and one count of furnishing obscene
materials to a minor, St. Clair County Prosecutor Mona Sayed said.

Ackerman already faced 14 charges, including 11 counts of sexual
misconduct, two counts of production of child abusive material and one
count of indecent exposure.

The original charges involve Ackerman's alleged misconduct with four girls, ages 9 to 14.

The different lives of Ajax AckermanTwo years ago, a shy Debbie Bergman met Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman, a big man with a long beard and pony tail who ran a Port Huron youth center called Clear Choices.

The center was a haven for children looking for a place to escape home and school troubles, she said, and Mr. Ackerman, a former alcoholic and drug addict who had changed his life, was a role model to all.

"I would go over and talk to him, especially after I'd get in fights with my dad," said Debbie, 17, who has a learning disability and reads at the third-grade level. "He's a real nice person to me."

So when Mr. Ackerman, then mayor, was arrested April 6 and later arraigned on 22 charges of criminal sexual misconduct with underage girls, Debbie was indignant. She does not believe the accusations and often defends Mr. Ackerman.

As Mr. Ackerman, 42, prepares to face perhaps the biggest court date of his life - a Tuesday hearing to decide if the evidence warrants a trial - some said he is being unfairly judged. Others suggested the community blinded itself to Mr. Ackerman's troubled past, which might have provided ample warning of his future.

Ferndale resident Keith Leach, 38, said he "wasn't so shocked" that Mr. Ackerman was arrested.

A close friend of Mr. Ackerman's in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Mr. Leach said he was more surprised that Port Huron residents were so trusting. Though it was no secret Mr. Ackerman had a troubled past, Mr. Leach said most don't know the violent details.

"That guy definitely had two different lives, because he sure wasn't like that when I knew him," Mr. Leach said. "Someone obviously didn't do their homework when he came into town."

`A tough guy'

Mr. Ackerman grew up in the Detroit suburb of Oak Park, the adopted son of a conservative Jewish couple.

Following the advice of his attorney, Ken Lord, Mr. Ackerman would not speak to the Times Herald for this story. But in a November 1997 interview, he spoke of his childhood and past.

"I always had questions," he said. "I looked at the world I lived in and I didn't understand it."

Mr. Ackerman's problems began when, at age 14, he discovered alcohol and drugs. The abuse lasted 16 years. "I had found a way to escape," he said.

Mr. Ackerman's older sister, DeDe Fierman, said in 1997 that she would listen closely every weekend to police scanners for her brother's name to come up.

"The worst time was (when) he told me he had taken some crack and that he was going to die, his heart was going to explode. He passed out. When he came to, he did it again."

Mr. Ackerman's parents, Charles and Freda Ackerman, moved to Florida to escape Mr. Ackerman's troubles, he said. They could not be located for an interview.

"They bought me a place to live and said, `We're moving. We'll call you,' " Mr. Ackerman said. "They didn't leave a number or anything. They were sick of having me show up in trouble again."

When Mr. Ackerman shot an Oak Park man in the thigh and was arrested November 1977 on charges of felonious assault and careless discharge of a firearm, it was Mr. Leach's pellet rifle that did the job.

Only 17 at the time, Mr. Leach said he looked up to Mr. Ackerman, then 22, because he was "a tough guy." He got his nickname after the warrior "Ajax" in a movie about street gangs.

"I always hung out with the older crowd thinking I was cool," Mr. Leach said. He said the two met when he approached Mr. Ackerman after Mr. Ackerman won a fight with another man.

"I was amazed and then I just met up with him later on that night," Mr. Leach said.

The two men spent their days playing euchre with friends and nights smoking, drinking and taking drugs in the city park, Mr. Leach said. It was a hangout for teens and young adults, he said, and Mr. Ackerman had a lot of spare time because he rarely had a job.

For the shooting, Mr. Ackerman pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of reckless use of a firearm. He was sentenced to a $2,000 fine or one year in Oakland County Jail. Court records do not say whether he served any time.

It wasn't the first time the Oak Park police had heard his name.

Just two months before, Mr. Ackerman was arrested after Oak Park resident Helen Bennett came to the police with concerns about her 15-year-old daughter, Miriam.

According to a 1977 Oak Park Department of Public Safety report, Mrs. Bennett claimed her daughter had run away from home for three days and had stayed with Mr. Ackerman, then 21.

Mrs. Bennett "indicated to (the officer) that her daughter had remained away from home without her permission, and that her daughter had told her that she had been in the company of" Mr. Ackerman, the report states. The report said Miriam was sexually active and both parents were willing to cooperate in prosecuting Mr. Ackerman for having dated her, it said.

"She was young and everything then and he got her parents mad for some reason and it was a weird situation," Mr. Leach said, describing Miriam. "Everything went haywire and the parents went to the courts and they wanted to file a rape charge."

Mr. Ackerman was convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and sentenced to six months probation.

Two years later, Mr. Ackerman was again arrested, this time for obstructing and resisting an officer and violating park hours.

According to the police report, when an Oak Park officer spotted Mr. Ackerman a little after midnight on July 25, leaning against his car and attempting to vomit on the street, he asked Mr. Ackerman to leave because it was past the midnight curfew.

It also states that Mr. Ackerman "began to challenge officer to a fight" and "in attempting to get away from officer hit officer in the right side of the head and knocked officer's glasses off." The police records do not make it clear whether he was convicted, and the Oak Park District Court doesn't computerize records before 1988.

The next day, Mr. Ackerman, along with friend David Scheinn, were arrested and accused of beating two men. Madison Heights resident Thomas Schumann, now 40, remembers watching Mr. Ackerman beating his friend, Alan Fenton.

"They said a couple words and then Ackerman hit (Mr. Fenton) when he wasn't looking and punched him up on the head," Mr. Schumann said. "Al went down out cold."

Mr. Ackerman continued to "jump on top of him, beating the hell out of him and then Scheinn jumped in."

"It was a drunken fight," Mr. Schumann said. Mr. Ackerman "was heavy in the dope back then. We wasted years down in that park."

Mr. Ackerman was charged with two counts of felonious assault and was sentenced to $200 in court costs and one year of probation.

`Helpful and kind'

After spending a short time in the Navy, Mr. Ackerman, then 27, met Stephanie Gire, an Oak Park resident just out of high school. After a brief courtship, Mr. Ackerman and Ms. Gire, then 19, married. Mr. Ackerman's only daughter was born two years later, in 1986.

"I was living across the street from him and he looked scary," his ex-wife said. Since remarried, she is now Mrs. Ryan and lives in Grosse Pointe.

The man she knew as Gerry had a pony-tail and chest-length beard which frightened her he sports them both today. "But as I got to know him, he came across as the all-American, very charming, the whole bit.

"He was always helpful and kind."

Mrs. Ryan said she tried to deal with his drinking binges and physical and emotional abuse. Mr. Ackerman has admitted he hit her during drinking binges.

"I threatened to leave him unless he went to rehab," she said. "I wanted him gone, but with Gerry, you don't leave - he leaves you."

Mrs. Ryan said she convinced Mr. Ackerman in 1987 to attend a motorcycle school in Orlando, Fla. When he returned a year later, the couple separated, she said. The divorce was finalized in 1990, and Mrs. Ryan said she then had to deal with the absence of child support payments.

`The right direction'

It was sitting in an Orlando bar that Mr. Ackerman has said he decided to stop his wild ways. When he returned to Michigan, Mr. Ackerman founded the Selfish Few Motorcycle Club, a group of sober bikers dedicated to helping children stay away from drugs and alcohol.

The group came to Port Huron and club member Mike Alexander in 1989 took Mr. Ackerman into his Port Huron home. Immediately, Mr. Ackerman set out to turn his life around and enrolled in classes at St. Clair County Community College.

"His intentions were good in the beginning," said Mr. Alexander's wife, Mary Ann. Her husband declined to comment.

"That's why he grabbed us as being so smart, intelligent, articulate. From our view, he was heading in the right direction," she said.

After months of refusing to help pay the bills, the Alexanders kicked him out.

"He lived with us for eight months, never once paid rent, never paid the phone bill, never even had a job," Mrs. Alexander said. The couple fired Mr. Ackerman as janitor with the family business when "he couldn't push a broom."

Mrs. Alexander said she is happy people are questioning his character.

"If he's guilty then damn him, he's not fit to walk the streets," she said. "If he's found not guilty, then my best of wishes to him.

"But I know his track record isn't cool and it doesn't sit kosher with me."

After he left the Alexanders' home, Mr. Ackerman went on welfare, Mrs. Alexander said, and would later marry and divorce his second wife, Janice Hall. Ms. Hall, who lives in Burtchville Township, would not speak to the Times Herald.

Stopping youth gangs

If his private life was still troubled, Mr. Ackerman's public persona was just beginning to grow.

He began volunteering at local youth counseling agencies and assisted with an anti-drug program for children. He spoke out publicly at town hall meetings and forums, discouraging youngsters from following a path of violence.

When Port Huron exploded with gang activity in the mid-1990s - climaxing with a 1995 gang-fight murder - Mr. Ackerman was at the forefront. Working with the Port Huron Police Department, he helped turn back the climb in gang-related crimes today they are virtually nonexistent.

"He helped me realize how stupid it was," said Ms. Kilbourne, whose family's house was torched by gangs in 1997. "He helped me to see that it wasn't worth it."

Ms. Kilbourne said she does not believe the charges against him. "He gave advice and kids listened."

In 1994, police gave Mr. Ackerman a medal for his work with youth. "He played a fairly significant role," in curbing gang violence, said police Chief William Corbett, who met Mr. Ackerman in 1990. "Because of who he was and his appearance, some of the gang members related to him and trusted him."

In 1995, Mr. Ackerman opened Clear Choices with his third wife, Nancee Armstrong, a teacher at Yale's Phoenix Alternative School. The nonprofit youth center, which included a pool table, video games, band nights and dances, offered children an alternative to hanging out on the streets.

Running for council

Running on his popularity as a youth advocate and gang fighter, Mr. Ackerman ran in November 1995 for City Council and won the seventh and final seat. But a recount showed a tie, and he lost a lottery to A. Herb Robbins. Thanks to a council tradition of appointing the next-highest vote-getter to City Council vacancies, Mr. Ackerman was appointed when Jim Relken resigned in 1997.

When he ran for re-election that fall as a man who challenged the leaders of city government, Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman won more votes than any other candidate. He would be mayor.

He called his parents on election night and wept.

After spending more than half his life under the influence of alcohol and drugs, he had come out on top. He was embraced as the most popular local politician in his adopted hometown.

He was featured in motorcycle magazine Easy Rider and his story of rebel-turned-good made headlines in newspapers across the country. His story debunked the stereotypes of bikers and former addicts.

He went on to represent the city at local and national governmental conventions. While mayor, the city ended years of stalling and agreed to spend the more than $180 million it would take to separate its sewers and comply with federal and state standards.

Warning signs

But warning signs of what some called Mr. Ackerman's financial instability surfaced at an April 1998 City Council meeting. Some residents spoke out about Mr. Ackerman's attempts to get federal funds to buy a building on 10th Street to house Clear Choices. The owner of the building that housed Clear Choices planned to tear it down and make a parking lot.

"We warned people that were in the position in an administrative sort of way, but no one would listen," Mrs. Alexander said. She appeared with her husband.

By then, Clear Choices' activities were sporadic, and Mrs. Alexander told the City Council she worried that the center was no longer a popular youth hangout.

Mr. Ackerman withdrew his request for federal funds "in light of the potential appearance of a conflict of interest." SEMCO Energy, which was involved in a development project with the city, gave Clear Choices enough money for the mortgage in June.

Later that year, Mr. Ackerman and his wife began having problems. She has declined to talk with the Times Herald. Mr. Ackerman moved out of the couple's home on Center Avenue and into the upstairs apartment in the Clear Choices building on 10th Street.

Just before his arrest, on April 1, his wife had filed for divorce, he was living alone, his youth center was nearly dead and there was talk of an affair with a teen-age girl.

On the day of his arraignment - on charges including having sex with an 11-year-old girl - he resigned as mayor.

After police confiscated financial records from Clear Choices, they began investigating allegations that Mr. Ackerman's public support for the River Centre development project with SEMCO changed after the company's $7,000 grant to Clear Choices. SEMCO's new headquarters will be built at the site.

Mr. Ackerman, SEMCO and Citizens First Savings Bank were cleared of all bribery accusations last month. All had denied wrongdoing.

A life turned around

Included in the police investigation report was mention of Angela Koper, the teen-age girl with whom Clear Choices board member Tim Schrader said Mr. Ackerman had been "spending a lot of time." Mr. Schrader resigned, the report said, because he "did not feel that was right and that he did not care for the way that (Mr. Ackerman) was treating Nancee Armstrong."

Ms. Koper, a 19-year-old former drug addict and alcoholic, often went to Clear Choices. She has told the Times Herald she met Mr. Ackerman when she was 16, when he spoke out against drugs as a guest speaker in his wife's class at Phoenix Alternative School.

Ms. Koper, who said Mr. Ackerman offered advice and helped her "get back on track," said she had about a six-month affair with the mayor beginning in April 1998 when she was 18. It ended after she discovered she was pregnant last October, she said.

She gave birth to a boy May 5, and though she said she believes the baby is Mr. Ackerman's, she has said she cannot be certain. The birth certificate lists no father.

Ms. Koper of Clyde Township said she does not believe the sex abuse charges against Mr. Ackerman are true. Although she has not spoken to Mr. Ackerman since his arrest, she appeared in court for a hearing at which he was arraigned on several more charges. She sat alone, in the back row, eight months pregnant.

"He helped me with so many things," said Ms. Koper, who has been drug-free for more than a year. "Because of him I am off of drugs today. He was a real good friend to me."

What remains

Mr. Ackerman remains out of jail on a $25,000 bond and has mostly kept out of the public eye since his April 6 arrest.

On Tuesday, a St. Clair County judge is expected to decide whether the accounts of the girls and any other evidence are enough to believe a crime was committed and that Mr. Ackerman committed it. If so, he will move the case to trial, at which the former mayor could face up to life in prison.

For family, friends and area residents, the two months since have given them time to think about Mr. Ackerman's situation.

"I don't think he did anything wrong," said Mrs. Bergman, 50. "He's been her friend, he's talked to her, he always spoke nice to her.

"I trust him. When you trust someone, you're not going to worry."

Mrs. Bergman teaches her daughter to hold on to her beliefs. "He helped her have fun and meet people. I believe he is innocent," Mrs. Bergman said. "I've told her, `You have to believe in somebody.'"

Times Herald reporter Tony Manolatos contributed to this report.THE ACCUSATIONS

CHARGES LEVIED

Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman's preliminary hearing is set for Tuesday, during which a District Court judge will decide whether there is enough evidence to warrant a trial. Mr. Ackerman, 42, faces 22 counts of sexual misconduct involving 11 girls between August 1998 and March 1999. The girls ages ranged in age at the time from 8 to 15. Charges range in seriousness from six felony criminal sexual conduct counts punishable by up to life in prison, to eight misdemeanor indecent exposure counts punishable by up to one year in jail.

The following are the charges filed against Mr. Ackerman, the former mayor of Port Huron. The counts, or individual acts, are all degrees of criminal sexual conduct, unless otherwise noted:

First degree criminal sexual conduct carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. Second degree criminal sexual conduct is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Producing child pornography carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Indecent exposure is punishable by up to one year in jail. Furnishing obscene material is a 90-day misdemeanor.

PHOTO CAPTIONSTHE FACES OF GERALD "AJAX" ACKERMAN: At top left, Mr. Ackerman mugs for the camera at a motorcycle club pig roast in Hell, Mich., in the early 1990s. At top right, he addresses a July 1997 community forum on youth gang violence while Port Huron City Councilwoman Anita Ashford looks on. At lower left, then-Mayor Ackerman and former Lieutenant Gov. Connie Binsfeld watch a children's fashion show during an October 1998 St. Clair County Child Abuse-Neglect Council program at the Thomas Edison Inn. At bottom right, he and his lawyer, Daniel Traver, listen to proceedings during an April 16 St. Clair County District Court hearing on criminal sexual conduct charges.Top left photo courtesy Mary Ann Alexander others Times Herald file photos

LEADER: Ajax Ackerman, left, talks with Congressman David Bonior and city administrator Doug Alexander at Port Huron's Municipal Office Center following a presentation by Rep. Bonior in February.Times Herald

BIKER: Ajax Ackerman in his motorcycle helmet.Times Herald

LEADER: Ajax Ackerman introduces motivational speaker Saleef Kafajouffe at the start of one of the planning meetings that led up to last year's south-side summits.Times Herald

BIKER: Ajax Ackerman poses on his motorcycle soon after fellow City Council members appointed him Port Huron's mayor.By CARLOS OSORIO, The Associated Press

HAPPIER TIMES: Nancee Armstrong attended her husband's swearing-in ceremony as Port Huron's mayor in November 1997. Five days before his arrest in April, she filed for divorce.By RALPH W. POLOVICH, Times Herald

BACKERS: Nancy Bergman and her daughter, Deborah, 17, are supporters of Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman. They live near the Clear Choices teen center on 10th Street, and say they have never had a negative experience with the center or Mr. Ackerman.By RALPH W. POLOVICH, Times Herald

PORT HURON, Mich. –– Port Huron's tattooed, motorcycle-riding
former mayor, once hailed as a role model for overcoming drugs and
alcohol, was convicted Tuesday of exposing himself to nine underage
girls.

Judge Peter Deegan immediately sentenced Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman, 42,
to a year in prison on the nine counts of indecent exposure.

The jury couldn't reach verdicts on 16 other counts of sexual misconduct.

"This conviction on these counts has nothing to do, Mr. Ackerman,
with what you've done for this community. ... You could have won the
Nobel Prize for Peace and if you would have acted this way this sentence
would be the same," Deegan said.

The allegations involved 11 girls ages 8 to 15. In one instance,
three girls 9, 11 and 13 testified that they were together when
Ackerman told them to take off their clothes and then performed oral sex
on them.

PORT HURON, Mich. - Port Huron's motorcycle-riding former mayor,
honoured as Michigan Public Citizen of the Year in 1994 and hailed as a
role model for overcoming drugs and alcohol, was convicted yesterday of
exposing himself to nine underage girls. Judge Peter Deegan immediately
sentenced Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman,
42, to a year in prison. The allegations involved 11 girls ages eight
to 15. Three girls testified Ackerman performed oral sex on them.

Judge Peter Deegan immediately sentenced Ackerman to one year in prison on the nine misdemeanor counts, to be served concurrently. Ackerman, 42, didn't visibly react when the verdicts were read. He could have faced up to life in prison if he had been convicted on the first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges.

The allegations against Ackerman, who used his story of how he overcame drug and alcohol addictions to motivate others, involved 11 girls ages 8 to 15.

Toronto Start - October 27, 1999 PORT HURON, Mich. (AP) - Port Huron's tattooed, motorcycle-
riding former mayor, once hailed as a role model for overcoming drugs
and alcohol, was convicted yesterday of exposing himself to nine
underage girls.

Judge Peter Deegan immediately sentenced Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman, 42, to a year in prison on the nine counts of indecent exposure.

"This conviction on these counts has nothing to do, Mr. Ackerman,
with what you've done for this community. . . . You could have won the
Nobel Prize for Peace and if you would have acted this way this sentence
would be the same," Deegan said.

The
allegations involved 11 girls ages 8 to 15. Three girls testified they
were together when Ackerman told them to take off their clothes and then
performed oral sex on them. Ackerman, who
once sported a ponytail, leather clothes and tattoos, was named Michigan
Public Citizen of the Year in 1994. He was elected mayor of Port Huron
three years later and resigned in April, one day after charges were
filed.

The Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman case has stirred a lot of strong opinions. Some friends of mine, hashing out the case over breakfast yesterday, came to the conclusion that the judge should tack four years to his sentence, forget a new trial and get on with life. I'd go for it.

Now, to the phones:

Grandma from Fort Gratiot: "I'm very disappointed in the Gerald `Ajax' Ackerman jury. I think they could have done better for the children. I don't believe those little girls lied or imagined the things that were seen and heard. Children would have to hear those terms. And his cavorting around, half-dressed, was disgraceful. He stole their innocence. He doesn't even look ashamed. I hope when this is over that he leaves Port Huron."

Theresa from Algonac: "I would really like to say that Mike Connell's article in Sunday's paper was terrific. I really believe those thoughts he had were what many of us have thought - that a public official would be in an affair with 17- or 18-year-olds is beyond comprehension. It's an unbelievable act of indiscretion. Thank you, Mike, for a beautiful article that tells the truth."

Peggy from Marysville: "I agree with Diane from Fort Gratiot. I am appalled at Mike Connell's article in Sunday's paper, especially now that Ajax has been found guilty and will be sentenced to at least one year in jail for indecent exposure with young children. President Clinton did not expose himself to young children. How can Mike Connell even compare the two? And I'm a Republican."

Claudette from Port Huron: "In response to Diane from Fort Gratiot about Mike Connell's article in Sunday's paper: I think Mr. Connell was comparing the morals of President Clinton and Gerald Ackerman, not what they had done - the moral value."

Joan from Port Huron: "This is a sad day for the children of our community. I can't believe, after all the evidence, they couldn't have found Gerald `Ajax' Ackerman guilty on the felonies. Ten months from now, he will be out running around again."

An Italian Grandma from Port Huron: "I guess I'm one person who is really upset about what Mr.

PORT HURON -- The city's ponytailed, bearded, motorcycle-riding ex-mayor will be tried on charges he molested young girls and made pornographic pictures of them, a judge ruled Wednesday.

The St. Clair County district judge ordered the trial after a two-day preliminary examination in which four girls, ages 9 to 12, testified behind closed doors against Gerald (Ajax) Ackerman. The court later made tapes available to reporters.

A 12-year-old girl said she was with two other girls when, she said, Ackerman molested all three of them.

Defense attorney Kenneth Lord said that the girls' testimony was contradictory and did not prove guilt. He noted that several girls at first denied to police that Ackerman had molested them.

Authorities are under pressure to prosecute child sexual-abuse cases, he said.

But Judge John Cummings said there was enough evidence for a trial in Circuit Court. Prosecutors have filed 22 charges against Ackerman, including six counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.

On Wednesday, prosecutors asked Cummings to add four counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, based on a 9-year-old girl's testimony Tuesday that Ackerman committed additional acts against her.

Cummings said he probably would not rule until today on how many felony counts Ackerman will face. He allowed Ackerman, who resigned his mayoral post in April, to remain free on $25,000 bond.

The 43-year-old Ackerman had become a role model in Port Huron. He used his story about how he overcame drug and alcohol addictions to help others.

In 1995, he opened Clear Choices, a youth recreation center. He was named to the Port Huron City Council in 1996 and in November 1997, he was appointed mayor.

Police Lt. Herbert Welser Jr. testified Wednesday that he and Chief William Corbett questioned Ackerman for two hours and 40 minutes before arresting him.

The trial of former Mayor Gerald (Ajax) Ackerman, who faces charges of sexual misconduct with girls, opened Thursday with graphic details and a crying witness who recounted her experiences with him.

Assistant Prosecutor Mona Armstrong, in her opening statement to the jury, accused Ackerman of using a youth center that he established to manipulate "an entire community of children for his own sexual purposes."

Armstrong said Ackerman kept a bowl of condoms on a desk in his office at the center, called Clear Choices. Armstrong also said Ackerman exposed himself to girls, performed and received oral sex, and forced girls to take pictures of him in sexual acts with other girls.

The prosecutor showed a chart outlining the 27 felony and misdemeanor counts against Ackerman, 18 of which relate to three girls. In all, the charges involve 11 girls, ages 8 to 15.

Defense lawyer Kenneth Lord, representing Ackerman, pointed out differences in the accounts the girls have given as to when and if sexual events took place. Lord's 40-minute presentation was laced with graphic slang terms to describe body parts and the activities that were said to have taken place.

Some jurors cleared their throats and covered their mouths as Lord spoke.

"All we ask, is that you keep an open mind," he told the jury of nine women and five men, including two alternates.

As mayor, Ackerman wore his hair long and drove a motorcyle. He often told of his struggle with drugs and alcohol. One witness, a 15-year-old girl, testified that she saw Ackerman expose himself on two occasions while he was wearing loose overalls unbuttoned on the side.

The girl, who said she started going to the center in the summer of 1998, said that while they were shooting pool, Ackerman, after sinking a shot, jumped up and down until his overalls fell, revealing that he wasn't wearing underwear, she said.

"You could see everything," she said.

On cross-examination, Lord raised questions about her story. The testimony revealed that she told police one incident occurred at noon on a Friday last year, at a time when she should have been in school.

The charges against Ackerman range from first-degree criminal sexual conduct to furnishing obscene material to minors.

Prosecutor tries to show patternGerald "Ajax" Ackerman had consensual sexual relations with two teen-age women at Clear Choices last year, the women testified Tuesday.

A prosecutor said the relationships show a pattern of the former Port Huron mayor luring young women into sexual relationships at the youth center he founded.

They were the first of 12 witnesses who took the stand Tuesday, the third day of testimony. Among them were a Port Huron girl whose mother initially went to the police and an Avoca girl, 11, who said she touched Mr. Ackerman sexually once. She was expected to be on the stand when the trial resumed at 9:30 a.m. today in the St. Clair County Courthouse.

Mr. Ackerman faces up to life in prison if convicted of the most severe among 27 sexual misconduct charges.

Although Kenneth Lord, Mr. Ackerman's defense lawyer, considers the testimony of the two adults irrelevant, it could be damaging, he said. They said they were 17 and 18 when they had sex and oral sex last year with the mayor, who is 42 and married.

"There's always a danger that the jury will believe that if he did it with consenting adults, they'll say he must have done it with kids," Mr. Lord said. He tried to bar the women from testifying with pre-trial motions that were rejected by Judge Peter Deegan.

Both young women, who are now 18 and 19, said they believed they were in love with Mr. Ackerman and that he loved them.

The 19-year-old, who is from Ruby, said she had a relationship with Mr. Ackerman over several months and they often had sexual intercourse at the youth center. She said the relationship ended in September or early October 1998.

"How do you feel about the defendant right now?" asked Mona Armstrong, assistant prosecutor.

The 18-year-old said she first met Mr. Ackerman as a junior in high school. Her relationship with the mayor began during her senior year when he kissed her while she was visiting the nonprofit youth center he founded in 1985. Later, he led her upstairs in the center and twice performed oral sex on her, she said.

On that day, she said: "I had told him I loved him and he said, `I wonder why?'"

She said he then performed oral sex on her a second time.

Both women insisted Tuesday that the relationships were consensual and that they remained friends with him after the relationships ended.

Mr. Ackerman's wife filed for divorce April 1.

The 19-year-old testified that after Mr. Ackerman was arrested on April 6, she contacted him and he asked her to destroy pornographic videotapes, underwear and magazines he had given to her to hold onto months earlier.

She also testified that she had Mr. Ackerman take Polaroid pictures of her naked and he told her after his arrest that he destroyed the pictures and not to worry about them being found by police.

Mrs. Armstrong said the testimony of the two young women sheds important insight into the case.

"Things don't happen in a vacuum," she said.

Under questioning by Mr. Lord, the 19-year-old admitted she lied to police about when she disposed of the videotapes Mr. Ackerman gave her. She initially told police she destroyed them in September 1998, but now says that she did it after Mr. Ackerman's April 6 arrest.

While testimony Tuesday began with the revelations of Mr. Ackerman's sexual liaisons with consenting young women, it ended with a labored exchange between Mr. Lord and the 11-year-old Avoca girl who claims Mr. Ackerman made her touch him sexually.

Mr. Lord spent most of his nearly half-hour of questioning trying to pin the girl down to specific dates and the order of events. The girl frequently twisted quickly from side to side in the witness chair and rubbed her face with her hands during questioning.

"I know what happened but I don't know all the dates," the girl said during cross-examination. She returned to the stand this morning.

The girl, who like the others is not being identified by the Times Herald because of a policy not to name possible victims of sex crimes, was the 12th witness to testify.

She said Mr. Ackerman asked her to fondle him twice, but she only did it upon his second request. Mr. Ackerman "asked me to feel his stuff and I said no," the girl said. But she said Mr. Ackerman asked her on another day, pulled his pants down and she touched him with both hands. He also asked her to feel her own chest.

During Mr. Lord's questioning, the girl also said she saw her now 13-year-old friend giving Mr. Ackerman oral sex twice.

When Mrs. Armstrong asked her why she didn't tell anyone, the girl said: "I was worried that if I told I would get hurt."

"Why were you afraid of him?" Mrs. Armstrong asked.

"Because he was bigger than me and he could hurt me really bad," she said.

The girl also said she saw Mr. Ackerman and a 12-year-old friend from Port Huron "humping" each other while they played house at Clear Choices. Mr. Ackerman was wearing pants but no shirt and her friend, who is now 13, was wearing a bra and panties, she said. The 13-year-old has told police that she had sex and oral sex with Mr. Ackerman, two of the most serious charges he faces. She has not yet testified.

Several other witnesses took the stand Tuesday to describe seeing indecent exposure when Mr. Ackerman was wearing baggy bib overalls.

Among them was the 14-year-old Port Huron girl whose close relationship with Mr. Ackerman prompted her mother to go to police, according to testimony of the girl and her mother.

After going to police, they learned that the girl's 8-year-old sister said she had sex with Mr. Ackerman. She is expected to testify later.

The 14-year-old said Tuesday that Mr. Ackerman exposed himself to her. She said Mr. Ackerman's overalls and denim shorts fell down several times and on different days in front of her. She also said he dropped his pants intentionally one day and asked her what she would do if he did that. She said she told him she was not like that and he apologized and never did it again.

She said she never told her mother because "I knew if I would have told her about it, I wouldn't have been able to see Ajax again." She said she had hoped Mr. Ackerman would adopt her or become her guardian.

The 14-year-old girl also described her close-knit, paternal relationship with Mr. Ackerman.

"He was one of my best friends and he was sort of like my dad," the girl said.

It was her mother who went to police after becoming suspicious that Mr. Ackerman was spending too much time with her daughter.

The mother of the 11-year-old Avoca girl went to police at the same time.

She admitted to having a friend warn Mr. Ackerman about the impending police investigation three days before her mother notified the police.

PHOTO CAPTIONS

LEAVING COURT: Assistant prosecutor Mona Armstrong carries notebooks from Judge Peter Deegan's courtroom Tuesday after the sexual misconduct trial of former Port Huron Mayor Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman is adjourned. At right, Kenneth Lord, Mr. Ackerman's defense lawyer, speaks to a reporter in a St. Clair County Courthouse hallway after the third day of testimony in the trial.

By TONY PITTS, Times Herald

COURT ADJOURNS FOR THE DAY: Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman, right, a former Port Huron mayor, leaves Tuesday after a jury heard testimony in St. Clair County Circuit Court. Mr. Ackerman faces 27 charges of sexual misconduct. His lawyer, Kenneth Lord, is at left.

DEFENDANT ON BREAK: Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman looks up from a book he was reading as he waits for his trial to resume in Port Huron after a lunch break Tuesday afternoon.

Times Herald photos by TONY PITTS

There's always a danger that the jury will believe that if he did it with consenting adults, they'll say he must have done it with kids."

KENNETH LORD, lawyer for Gerald Ackerman

ACKERMAN TRIAL - COURTROOM TESTIMONY AT A GLANCE

Tuesday: Twelve witnesses took the stand, including two teen-age women who say they had consensual affairs with Mr. Ackerman. The first of three girls who accuse Mr. Ackerman of felonies said she fondled him when he asked.

Today: Testimony of the 11-year-old girl accusing Mr. Ackerman of two second-degree criminal sexual conduct counts resumes with questioning by the defense.

Thursday: Trial is expected to resume with testimony from prosecution witnesses and questioning by the defense.

EDITOR'S NOTE - ABOUT OUR COVERAGEThe Times Herald has elected to withhold the names of the two teen-age women who testified to having sexual relations with Mr. Ackerman last year, although they were of the legal age of consent. Because the women are not accused of crimes, and were forced to testify only to illustrate what prosecutors called a pattern of manipulation, they are potential victims. The Times Herald has a general policy of not naming minor victims of potential sex crimes.

TUESDAY'S TESTIMONY - GERALD "AJAX" ACKERMAN SEXUAL MISCONDUCT TRIAL19-year-old Ruby woman, testifying for the prosecution: Described meeting Mr. Ackerman when he came to her school to speak about drug addiction. She said she was student in the class taught by Nancee Armstrong, Mr. Ackerman's wife. She looked at Mr. Ackerman as a mentor who gave her advice and helped encourage her to stop using drugs. She testified that in the spring of 1998, the relationship turned sexual. She said she and Mr. Ackerman took trips to Chicago, Indiana and other places. At some point, she said she asked Mr. Ackerman to take nude photos of her sitting on a stool at Clear Choices. Sometime in August, Mr. Ackerman gave her a garbage bag filled with four or five videotapes, some biker magazines and a g-string with a hole in it and the face of an elephant pictured on it because he didn't want them at the youth center, she said. She said she destroyed the items at his request after his arrest, although she initially told police she destroyed the evidence last fall. She said it was not unusual for her and Mr. Ackerman to watch adult videos, both at Clear Choices and at her parents' home. She said that she could not remember the specifics of her interview with Detective Lt. Phil McCarty of the police department and was not able to answer many of Mr. Lord's questions about what she told Lt. McCarty. She admitted that she did not want to be in court testifying against the man she loved and still has "complex" feelings for. Time: 45 minutes.

18-year-old woman, testifying for the prosecution: Testified to meeting Mr. Ackerman at Clear Choices and slowly developing a friendship with him. "He always told me I was beautiful, gorgeous, unique, funny." In October 1998, she said her relationship with Mr. Ackerman turned sexual when he kissed her one night at Clear Choices. She said they kissed again and he touched one of her breasts about a week later in the upstairs of the center while a dance was downstairs. A couple of weeks after the dance, he picked her up after school and they went to the center, she said. They began kissing again and he asked her if she wanted to go upstairs and she said she didn't know. He led her upstairs and performed oral sex on her twice, she testified. That was the last time they had oral sex, though the kissing and touching continued. She said she loved him and even when the sexual relationship ended in December, they remained friends. She did not testify as to why the relationship ended. Under questioning by Mr. Lord, she testified that Mr. Ackerman did not force himself on her. Time: 25 minutes.

13-year-old girl, testifying for the prosecution: Testified that she could see Mr. Ackerman's sides when he was wearing his baggy overalls at Clear Choices. She said once while she was at the center helping to clean, Mr. Ackerman's running pants fell down, exposing him to her. But she said he quickly pulled up his pants and apologized. She said under cross-examination that she never saw Mr. Ackerman intentionally expose himself. Time: 10 minutes.

10-year-old girl, sister of the 13-year-old girl, testifying for the prosecution: Said she never saw anything unusual while at Clear Choices. Said she lied to police about seeing Mr. Ackerman's private parts while he was changing because she wanted to be with her sister when she testified. She said she thought her sister would have to go to court to testify and did not want her to be alone. She informed prosecutors and her mother about the lie last week. Time: 10 minutes.

Debbie Baker, Central Middle School attendance secretary, testifying for the prosecution: Told the jury about Mr. Ackerman coming to the school Feb. 18 to take a 14-year-old Port Huron girl out to lunch for her birthday. She said the girl's mother was called for permission. After getting permission, the school released the girl. She said Mr. Ackerman made no attempt to deceive the school about his purpose for being there. Time: 5 minutes.

Connie Falk, special education teacher consultant at Central Middle School, testifying for the prosecution: Said that one day last school year, she saw three girls, including the 14-year-old Port Huron girl, waiting to find out if they could be released to Mr. Ackerman from school. Because he was not a pre-approved person for the girls and parents could not be reached, the girls were not released. Time: 5 minutes.

Tami Baird of Port Huron, mother of two of Mr. Ackerman's principal accusers, testifying for the prosecution: She said she first "got a weird feeling" when her oldest daughter, 14, started spending every day with Mr. Ackerman. She said she pointed out her concern to a Domestic Assault-Rape Elimination Services counselor in February. Then she had a conversation with Mr. Ackerman in which she said Mr. Ackerman broke down crying when Ms. Baird threatened to stop her daughter's attendance at the center. She denies giving Central Middle School permission to allow her daughter to have lunch with Mr. Ackerman on her birthday. Under cross-examination by Mr. Lord, Ms. Baird acknowledged she filed a $25 million civil lawsuit in June against Mr. Ackerman for what she says he did to her daughters. She said her bias against Mr. Ackerman does not have anything to do with money. She said she initially called police because of the involvement of her older daughter, but had no idea that her younger daughter had sex with Mr. Ackerman, as she later claimed. Time: 15 minutes.

Noreen Price, former DARES counselor, testifying for the prosecution: Said Ms. Baird mentioned her concerns about Mr. Ackerman's relationship with her 14-year-old daughter during a counseling session Feb. 10. Under cross-examination by Mr. Lord, she said she advised Ms. Baird to confront Mr. Ackerman she thought Ms. Baird was going to. Ms. Price is named as a defendant in Ms. Baird's civil lawsuit. Time: 5 minutes.

14-year-old girl, testifying for the prosecution: While at Clear Choices, she said she got a call from her best friend, a 14-year-old Port Huron girl, that her mother planned to take her to the police regarding Mr. Ackerman. The girl asked her to warn Mr. Ackerman. The girl testified that her friend wanted Mr. Ackerman to know she was sorry. "She said to tell him that she's not going to say anything so not to worry," she testified. The girl said her friend has been living with her since February. Time: 10 minutes.

14-year-old Port Huron girl whose relationship with Mr. Ackerman prompted the investigation, testifying for the prosecution: Said she began going to Clear Choices in the summer of 1998, and soon after she saw Mr. Ackerman's baggy overalls and black denim shorts fall down. On one occasion she said Mr. Ackerman pulled his pants down and asked her what she would do if he did that. She said she was not like that and he apologized. When Mr. Lord asked why she continued to go to the center, she said Mr. Ackerman stopped acting that way around her and they became close. She described him as "one of my best friends and he was sort of like my dad" and she had hoped he would adopt her or become her guardian. She said Mr. Ackerman often called her "my girl" and sometimes their relationship felt like that of a couple. She described going to Border Cats games, movies and meals alone with him. She said her mother knew and approved of her birthday lunch with Mr. Ackerman. She said she feared telling her mother about what she saw at Clear Choices because she did not want to be kept away. She said she asked her mom to drop the civil lawsuit because she did not want people to question her motives. She said several times that Mr. Ackerman helped her and counseled her during rough family times. She said she loved him. Time: 50 minutes.

11-year-old Avoca girl, the alleged victim of two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, testifying for the prosecution: Said she went to Clear Choices regularly. She testified to seeing a then-12-year-old Port Huron girl ask Mr. Ackerman for a cigarette and, after the girl offered him oral sex for it, they went upstairs and the girl came back with a cigarette. She did not see what happened upstairs. She testified to fondling Mr. Ackerman after his second request for her to do so. The girl, who said she takes Ritalin, said she also saw Mr. Ackerman and the same girl "humping" while partially dressed as the three played house in the upstairs of Clear Choices. Mr. Lord repeatedly asked when the events took place. The girl said several times that she could not remember when things happened because his questions at the preliminary hearing in June confused her. She said she now can't say when things happened exactly. Also, under Mr. Lord's questioning, the girl said she saw Mr. Ackerman and the 13-year-old girl having oral sex twice. Time: 50 minutes.LOOKING AHEAD: Mr. Lord is expected to continue his questions today.NOTEBOOK

AT THE TRIALTrial witnesses use different doorsIn order to avoid mid-trial run-ins between defendant Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman and his accusers, bailiffs at the courthouse have set up a system for what doors he and witnesses use. The former mayor always exits through the rear of the courtroom while his accusers go out the front door. So, during breaks, lunch recess and at the end of the day, Mr. Ackerman makes his way to the rear while his accusers head the opposite direction. Jurors are taken through still another exit to have their breaks.Witness objects to line of questioningDisapproving of the way defense lawyer Kenneth Lord was asking his questions, a 19-year-old witness from Ruby decided to raise her own objections to the judge. "I object to this line of questioning, your honor," she told Judge Peter Deegan. She said she did not like Mr. Lord repeatedly asking her about what she told police investigators during her first statement because she could not remember it and had not seen a transcript. Judge Deegan told her to answer Mr. Lord's questions. Objections are reserved for attorneys to make based on violations of court rules and rules of evidence. Witnesses do not get to object.County workers stop for updates on trialMr. Ackerman's trial is one many people in the courthouse are talking about. Throughout the first three days of testimony, several courthouse workers and law enforcement officers have popped in and out of Judge Deegan's courtroom to get a glimpse of what is going on. It is not uncommon to have people throughout the building asking bailiffs and other regular spectators for the latest update on what is going on in the courtroom. The courtroom has housed 30 to 40 people at any time during the three days of testimony.

CHRONOLOGY - ACKERMAN CASE

Nov. 4, 1997: Ackerman elected to City Council with most votes of all candidates later elected mayor by peers.

April 7: Ackerman arraigned on sex charges resigns as mayor. More charges, totaling 27, are added before the trial.

Thursday: Jury of nine women and five men is seated testimony begins as three girls testify that they saw Ackerman exposed at Clear Choices one admitted she lied when she told police she saw pornography on Ackerman's computer.

Friday: Thirteen children testify that they saw Ackerman partially nude at Clear Choices at least three testify that the statements attributed to them by police were either inaccurate or misleading.

Tuesday: Two women testify that they had consensual sexual relationships with Ackerman last year, beginning when they were 17 and 18 years old and frequented Clear Choices. An 11-year-old Avoca girl testifies that she touched him sexually upon his request and that she saw him perform oral sex with a friend.

Testifying at his trial Wednesday, former Mayor Gerald (Ajax) Ackerman denied that he did anything sexually inappropriate to girls who have accused him of sex crimes.

But Ackerman admitted to two affairs with teenage girls and said there is a possibility that four girls could have seen his genitals by accident.

Ackerman, in becoming mayor, was hailed as a role model who used his past of drug and alcohol abuse to help others overcome problems. Now he faces 16 felony counts and nine misdemeanors, including first-degree criminal sexual conduct and indecent exposure. Ackerman, 42, could receive a life sentence if convicted of first-degree sexual misconduct.

Defense lawyer Kenneth Lord, citing the names of Ackerman's young accusers, asked the defendant Wednesday whether he ever exposed himself to the girls or did anything else sexually inappropriate.

"Absolutely not," Ackerman replied in each case, according to testimony reported Wednesday by the Times Herald of Port Huron.

Ackerman acknowledged having consensual sexual relations with two teens. He testified that they were 17 and 18 when he began relationships with them.

One young woman, now 19, testified that she and Ackerman had a sexual relationship over several months. The relationship included intercourse, she said.

Another, now 18, testified that she and Ackerman developed a sexual relationship when she was 17.

Ackerman said, "I acknowledge that with great pain."

Ackerman said he saw himself as a role model for youth when he ran for Port Huron City Council -- first, unsuccessfully in 1995, and then in 1997 when he won the most votes and became mayor.

"If I could get elected to City Council, this would show young kids that we can do anything we put our minds to," he said."

St. Clair County Circuit Judge Peter Deegan on Tuesday dismissed two charges and lowered two first-degree criminal sexual conduct complaints, which accused Ackerman of penetration, to second-degree, which accuse him of touching.

Defense lawyers began presenting their case Tuesday as the trial stretched into a third week.

Lord has raised questions about several alleged victims, who in some cases told police they were abused, then retracted their stories in court. Prosecutors have said they think some of the girls are not comfortable with revealing some of what happened.

Early in the trial, four girls -- two 12-year-olds and two 15-year-olds -- said they had seen Ackerman's overalls fall down, exposing his genitals.

Another 15-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy testified that the former mayor's genitals were exposed because he wore his overalls loosely.

Ackerman has said he was a troubled teen who became addicted to drugs and alcohol and had multiple scrapes with the law as a young adult.

After he moved to Port Huron, he was credited with helping to fight gang activity.

Ackerman was arrested in April and resigned from the mayor's job a day later.

PORT HURON -- Former Mayor Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman took the stand Wednesday and denied allegations that he did anything sexually inappropriate to any underage girls who have accused him of sex crimes.

But Ackerman did admit to two affairs with teen-agers and said there is a possibility that four girls could have seen him exposed accidentally.

Once hailed as a role model who used his past of drug and alcohol abuse to help others overcome their problems, the 42-year-old Ackerman faces 16 felony counts and nine misdemeanors, including first-degree criminal sexual conduct and indecent exposure. He faces life in prison if convicted as charged.

Ackerman acknowledged having consensual sexual relationships with two teen-agers who testified they were 17 and 18 when they began relationships with him.

Jurors handed down verdicts Monday on some charges against this
city's former mayor, but the judge ordered them to return Tuesday to try
to reach verdicts on the remaining charges.

St. Clair County Judge Peter Deegan did not disclose how many of the 25 counts against Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman the jury had decided. He told the lawyers involved not to disclose that information, said assistant prosecutor Mona Armstrong.

Ackerman, 42, faces 16 felony charges and nine misdemeanors, including
first-degree criminal sexual conduct and indecent exposure. If
convicted, he could face up to life in prison on the sexual- conduct
charge.

The jury has deliberated more than 15
hours over three days. Jurors were expressionless as Deegan told them to
return Tuesday to resume deliberations.

Ackerman shrugged his shoulders toward the gallery as bailiffs placed handcuffs on him after the jury was escorted out.

PORT HURON -- Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman rode into town on his Harley Davidson motorcycle 12 years ago with a promise to help children find alternatives to gangs and drugs.

Ackerman had a long history of working with children, and he vowed to continue to make a difference in their lives.

But that record was shattered in a courtroom Tuesday, when the former mayor of Port Huron was found guilty of exposing himself to nine young girls at Clear Choices, a youth program set up by him. The jury of seven women and five men couldn't reach a verdict on the 16 more serious counts of criminal sexual conduct.

The verdict confirmed a feeling residents across the city had about Ackerman: He violated their trust.

"I feel betrayed," said Betty Bowers, owner of a real estate appraisal company in Port Huron. "Any elected official who would bring shame on this city the way he did betrayed everybody."

The jury's failure to come up with a verdict on the 16 felony counts angered the family of one alleged victim. When the hung jury was announced, those relatives began crying and screaming expletives, causing Circuit Court Judge Peter Deegan to order them removed from court.

That unresolved part of the case will have to be retried. St. Clair County prosecutors said the second trial should begin in about four months.

Deegan handed down the maximum penalty for misdemeanor indecent exposure charges: One year in jail.

Ackerman had asked for leniency. "I've spent 12 years in this community, and I've helped numerous families. I'm only asking that I get a fair playing field," he told the judge.

The judge responded: "This conviction ... has nothing to do with what you've done for the community. You could've won the Nobel Prize for peace and the sentence would still be the same.

"These counts -- all of which involve young girls -- were in a setting that was highly inappropriate. It's inexcusable." Supporters allege greed

The trial and its outcome sparked heated debate in the city of 32,000 residents.

Some share Bowers' anger with Ackerman, while others stand behind the former mayor, insisting that greed motivated three girls to accuse Ackerman of molesting them.

Ackerman's supporters pointed out that the jury was undecided on the criminal sexual conduct counts.

"There wasn't enough evidence to convict him" of the most serious charges, Port Huron resident Sally Gilmore said. "I don't think they'll ever be able to prove that he molested those girls because he's innocent."

Gilmore and others who support Ackerman said the parents of the alleged abuse victims cooked up stories to get rich. Three of the girls' parents separately filed $25-million civil lawsuits against Ackerman, claiming he abused his position as director of Clear Choices.

Although all three women have the same lawyer, they claim they never talked with each other about suing.

But Ackerman admitted during testimony last week that his pants fell down at Clear Choices at least four times. The ex-mayor further testified that he often wore no underwear beneath a pair of shorts that had a broken zipper and button. Critics furious

As far as Bowers is concerned, that is compelling enough evidence of Ackerman's guilt.

"Why would you wear clothes like that -- with no underwear -- in front of children?" she said. "What does that tell you?"

Rachel Evans, a Fort Gratiot resident who sat through most of the two-week trial, agreed with the prosecutor's contention that Ackerman repeatedly allowed his pants to fall down in order to desensitize the girls to sex.

Evans was furious that the jury didn't convict Ackerman of sexual abuse. "He took advantage of those children who trusted him," she said. "He was like a vacuum cleaner. He sucked those children in."

But Kristina Tollon of Port Huron said she was often alone with Ackerman when she was 12, and she said the former mayor never made any sexual advances.

"I was a troubled teen, and Ajax helped me out a lot," Tollon, 18, said. "He shared his story with me: how he used to be in gangs, and used to take drugs. But he showed me there were other choices." Good record as mayor

Whether or not people believe Ackerman molested the girls, most agree he did a good job as mayor.

"He was a success story," Bowers said. "He really did some good things during his time as mayor."

Ackerman, with his long, flowing hair and ZZ Top-like beard, didn't look like most politicians when he came to Port Huron in 1987. The former motorcycle gang member was open about his past life, which included alcohol and drug abuse. He vowed to dedicate his life to teaching children not to make the same mistakes.

Ackerman said he started Clear Choices because of an influx of gangs in Port Huron's south side.

"The kids kept saying the reason they were in gangs was because there was nothing else to do here," he said during testimony last week. "So Clear Choices gave them another option."

Ackerman in 1997 received the most votes as a dark-horse candidate for a city council seat. In Port Huron, the council candidate who receives the most votes is usually appointed mayor. 'Such a tragedy'

He resigned in April, a day after he was charged.

"I thought he did a great job," said resident Stuart Morgan, who voted for Ackerman. "He showed me that you can make it in life, no matter where you come from. He went from being a biker to the mayor. That's a great step."

Ackerman often sat down with gang members and tried to talk them out of the gang lifestyle, residents said.

"He was in a gang himself, so the kids would listen to him," Gilmore said. "He would help people nobody else would, like homeless people. Ackerman would actually talk to the people on the streets. He was a real person."

Residents also laud Ackerman for his work in securing more than $1 million in federal money last year to improve city sewers.

"There's no question that he did some good things," Bowers said. "He could've done so much more to put this city on the map.

"That's what makes this such a tragedy. He really could've done a lot of good -- but he used his power to do some horrible things."

Port Huron's tattooed, motorcycle-riding former mayor, once hailed as a role model for overcoming drugs and alcohol, was convicted Tuesday of exposing himself to nine underage girls.

Judge Peter Deegan immediately sentenced Gerald Ackerman, 42, to a year in prison on the nine counts of indecent exposure.

The jury couldn't reach verdicts on 16 other counts of sexual misconduct.

``This conviction on these counts has nothing to do, Mr. Ackerman, with what you've done for this community. ... You could have won the Nobel Prize for Peace and if you would have acted this way, this sentence would be the same,'' Deegan said.

The allegations involved 11 girls ages 8 to 15. In one instance, three girls - 9, 11 and 13 - testified that they were together when Ackerman told them to take off their clothes and performed a sexual act with them.

Ackerman testified that he did nothing sexually inappropriate to any of his underage accusers. He acknowledged two affairs with teen-agers - who were not among his accusers - and said there was a possibility that four girls could have seen him exposed accidentally.

Ackerman, who once sported a ponytail, leather clothes and tattoos, was named Michigan Public Citizen of the Year in 1994. He was elected mayor of Port Huron three years later and resigned in April, one day after charges were filed.

Prosecutor Peter George said he expects to retry Ackerman on the 16 other charges.

PORT HURON -- The retrial of former Mayor Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman on child sex abuse charges has been pushed back to May 2. Ackerman's attorney Sharon Parrish said she needs more time to prepare his defense against 16 counts of child sex abuse. A jury in October could not decide on Ackerman's guilt on those charges. If convicted, he faces life in prison. Ackerman was convicted of nine indecent exposure charges and is serving one year at the Macomb County Jail.

PORT HURON -- A 20-year-old woman testified that Port Huron's former mayor fathered her child while he and his wife were helping her kick a drug habit at the counseling center he founded.

The Port Huron woman was one of 12 witnesses to testify Thursday at Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman's trial on 10 counts of felony child molestation. The trial continued Friday before St. Clair County Circuit Judge Peter Deegan.

Ackerman is being retried on the charges, which include onvict the former mayor of nine counts of indecent exposure; since then, he has served a one-year sentence in the Macomb County Jail.

The 20-year-old woman testified that the son she bore in May 1999 was the result of a sexual relationship she and Ackerman had mainly at Clear Choices, the youth center he founded in 1995.

"I was very vulnerable at this time in my life and let others make decisions for me," she said. "I was just coming off drugs, and I don't know that I had full mental capacity."

Assistant Prosecutor Mona Armstrong said in her opening arguments that Ackerman lured young girls to Clear Choices and groomed them for his own sexual gratification.

"This is a case about the worst form of exploitation," she told the jury. "This is a case about the manipulation of an entire community of children. He established Clear Choices for his own purposes and targeted these children for his crimes."

Defense attorney Sharon Parrish told jury members that as they examined the girls' testimony, they would find disturbing inconsistencies.

"You'll find these inconsistencies not minor, like times and dates, but major, major inconsistencies," she said. "What we're dealing with here is a community of needy children in much need of attention."

The woman who said Ackerman fathered her child testified she became friends with the ex-mayor when he and his then-wife Nancee Armstrong helped her overcome her drug addiction.

The relationship eventually became intimate, and they had sex at least 20 times at the Clear Choices building, the woman testified. She said Ackerman took nude photographs of her at Clear Choices, at her request.

Ackerman had admitted having a sexual relationship with the woman but denied in October that her son is his child. He has declined to comment until the current trial is over, according to the Times Herald of Port Huron.

Ackerman, 43, was appointed to the Port Huron City Council in the summer of 1997 and became mayor that November, when he won election outright and collected more votes than any other council candidate. He resigned April 7, 1999, one day after being arrested on sexual misconduct charges that eventually came to include alleged victims between 8 and 15 years old.

Former Mayor Gerald Ackerman denied again Wednesday that he molested three preteen girls.

Ackerman took the stand in his own defense after the prosecution rested its case late Wednesday morning. He is being retried on 10 felony counts involving alleged sex acts with three girls before April 6, 1999, when they were 8, 11 and 12 years old.

Ackerman's first trial resulted last October in a hung jury. That jury did convict him of nine misdemeanor indecent exposure counts for which he is serving 1 year in the Macomb County Jail. Ackerman is appealing those convictions.

The former mayor testified in his own defense Wednesday for about two hours. Asked by defense attorney Sharon Parrish if he had sex with the girls, Ackerman said, "Absolutely not."

Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman took the stand Wednesday for the second time in seven months to deny he molested children at Clear Choices, the youth center he founded and directed until his April 1999 arrest.

Wearing a lavender dress shirt and tie, the former Port Huron mayor looked directly at jurors and spoke deliberately - raising his voice only to offer his strongest denial in two trials.

"I am not a pedophile," he said. "Children don't turn me on. I am not sexually excited by children."

His proclamation came after Assistant Prosecutor Mona Armstrong suggested that his admitted extramarital relationships with 18- and 17-year-old women had extended to taking advantage of children.

Mr. Ackerman was the first defense witness during his second trial on 10 molestation counts, including that he had sex and oral sex with girls 8- and 12-years-old.

With only four defense witnesses remaining, the 14-member circuit court jury could begin deliberations today.

The trial was to resume at 9:30 a.m. in Circuit Judge Peter E. Deegan's third-floor courtroom of the St. Clair County building. The trial is open to the public.

Deliberations continue until jurors agree - or deadlock - on each count.

Having sex with children is punishable by life in prison.

In October, a jury convicted Mr. Ackerman of nine counts of indecent exposure but deadlocked on the major charges, prompting the retrial. Mr. Ackerman continues to serve a one-year sentence for the conviction, which is under appeal.

In a little more than an hour on the stand, the 43-year-old Mr. Ackerman admitted to having affairs with young women then aged 17 and 18, but said those affairs were evidence that he was becoming self-destructive.

He also admitted to accidentally exposing himself to children at Clear Choices.

"I think I was subconsciously setting myself up to fail, that's the only thing I can think of," he said to his lawyer Sharon Parrish as he shook his head. Mr. Ackerman testified he never intended to expose himself.

Ms. Parrish asked Mr. Ackerman how he reacted when he learned in October 1998 that he had impregnated the 18-year-old and realized his days as Port Huron's mayor were numbered.

"It meant more than that. It meant I was losing my wife, the newspaper was hounding (the 18-year-old), I was losing everything," he said. "I'm a recovering alcoholic, and I do slip back into addictive behaviors.

He added that his affair with the 18-year-old was evidence that "I do tend to destroy my life."

Mr. Ackerman moved to Port Huron in 1989 hoping to jump-start his life after ditching alcohol and drugs two years earlier.

He said in a 1997 interview that he lost count of his arrests for public intoxication, assault and other minor offenses while he was a motorcycle-riding bad boy in metropolitan Detroit.

Among those offenses was a 1977 conviction for housing his runaway girlfriend for three days in Oak Park when he was 21. She was 15. He was sentenced to six months probation.

Port Huron gave him a new start. He took classes at St. Clair County Community College, worked with at-risk children at Community Mental Health of St. Clair County and gained prominence by using his youth center and comeback to counsel children out of gangs. In the 1997 City Council election, he received the most votes of all candidates, which earned him the mostly ceremonial mayor's position.

Mr. Ackerman testified that he was married to Port Huron resident Nancee Armstrong when he began a sexual relationship with the 18-year-old in March 1998. The now 20-year-old woman testified last week that she gave birth to Mr. Ackerman's son in May 1999, a month after his arrest.

He stopped short of admitting that the child was his in court Wednesday, a point he has previously denied in interviews with the Times Herald.

"It appeared to be my child," he testified Wednesday.

As Mr. Ackerman was being led back to the St. Clair County Jail on Wednesday, he said the months he's had to consider the charges better prepared him to testify.

"I think it was better this time," he said as he was being led away in handcuffs. "I was less adversarial this time."

Ms. Parrish agreed.

"The word was that people thought his demeanor at the last trial was not positive, that it did not fit the charges," she said. "I think (Wednesday) he was sincere and able to relate accurately and without hesitation."

Ms. Parrish said she elected to put Mr. Ackerman on the stand before any other defense witnesses so he would be less nervous.

"I've had to testify as a witness before, and you do get nervous," she said. "It's best for the defendant to not have to worry about when they will testify."

Mrs. Armstrong would not comment on Mr. Ackerman's testimony, saying that the juror's opinions are the only opinions that matter.

"I will say that everything we're seeing in this trial is based on a different strategy," she said, referring to the defense strategy.

Port Huron lawyer Kenneth Lord represented Mr. Ackerman at the October trial, but is still owed more than $30,000. The court appointed Ms. Parrish to represent Mr. Ackerman at this trial.

During her cross-examination, Mrs. Armstrong asked Mr. Ackerman about whether Clear Choices had a policy about whether adults should be alone with children. He responded that the organization did not, but that it was not recommended.

"It was a given," he said. "It's always been my belief that particularly men shouldn't be alone with children because it's too easy to get blamed."

She asked if that was the only reason he responded it was.

Mr. Ackerman also testified he was alone with some of his accusers on different occasions at Clear Choices, the now-defunct youth center that sits at 10th and Union streets.

Mr. Ackerman also testified three times that he could not remember certain dates or times.

Ms. Parrish has suggested that the inconsistencies of his accusers, and their inability to remember previous testimony or specific dates, suggests that their testimony is not true.

ACKERMAN TRIAL AT A GLANCE

Wednesday: Former mayor Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman denied touching, fondling, performing cunnilingus and having sex with the three accusers, then ages 8, 11 and 12. The girls are now 10, 12 and 13. Admitted to having a sexual affair with an 18-year-old girl, who is now 20.

Dr. John J. Zmiejko, pediatric physician at Children's Health Care of Port Huron, testifying for the prosecution: Testified he examined on Sept. 1, 1999, a 9-year-old girl, now 10, for signs of possible sexual abuse. The girl is the alleged victim of five counts of sexual misconduct. Said he examined her while she was both on her back and while she was in a knee-chest position to better inspect for any trauma to her genitalia. "She had thickening of her hymen - it was scarred down a bit," Dr. Zmiejko said. Said there was a notch on the girl's hymen at the 7 o'clock position. Port Huron Hospital emergency room doctor Daniel Angeli testified Tuesday that he found a notch on the girl's hymen at the 11 o'clock position. "A thickening means some sort of trauma to the hymen that has healed," Dr. Zmiejko said. "Studies have shown (a notch can be) caused by penetrated injury to that area. It rips, and you have a tear there and as it heals, you have a scar." Testified it is possible for girls who are victims of sexual abuse to have an intact hymen time can heal a scar. Said his and Dr. Angeli's findings were not contradictory because Dr. Angeli had noted the girl's vaginal area was enlarged, and the months in between the exams would give enough time for the swelling to go down - leaving the notch at a slightly lower position than it had been in April. The variability could be due to "a combination of the healing process and the exam techniques." Said the likelihood of the notch being caused by an accidental injury "is very, very, very small." Testified he also examined a 12-year-old girl, now 13, for signs of possible sexual abuse. Upon cross-examination by defense lawyer Sharon Parrish, he agreed the damage could have been caused by an 11- or 12-year-old boy, but said that it was unlikely and that it would depend on the boy's size and the amount of force used in penetration. Said it is "highly probable" the 9-year-old girl was sexually molested. Also said it is "possible" the 12-year-old girl was sexually molested. Time: 35 minutes.

Leo Niffeler, clinical child social worker at Eastwood Counseling of River District Hospital, testifying for the prosecution: Testified children go through certain stages after being molested: denial disclosure, where a child can tell others all or part of the molestation incident recantation and eventually, reaffirmation, or acknowledgement of the abuse. Testified rape is a forceful, aggressive act, where a molester moves slowly and builds a trusting relationship with a victim before engaging in any criminal activity with them. Said a molester will desensitize children by using sexually explicit language, exposing them to sexual materials and hugging or touching them before attempting to sexually abuse them. Also said a molester needs a place where he or she can have fairly unrestricted access to their victim. "This is not something that's going to happen at City Hall," he said. "You need a location and reason for the children to want to go there." Under cross-examination by Ms. Parrish, Mr. Niffeler said he was paid about $1,000 for testifying Wednesday. Time: 50 minutes.

Gerald Stephen Ackerman, defendant, testifying for the defense: Testified he started Clear Choices in 1995 to give teens a place to go during a time of high gang activity in the city. Said children and adults attended the facility's Sober Saturday events, which included dancing, games and refreshments. Said all events were chaperoned by adults. Said adults and a then 14-year-old girl, now 15, would stay after the center closed on Saturday nights to help clean. The 14-year-old "was like a daughter to me," he said. The 14-year-old discussed family problems and drug abuse by family members. "I discussed drugs and (my past) drug problems with young people when they presented them to me," Mr. Ackerman said. Testified he would take the 14-year-old to various places, including Border Cats hockey games and community events. Said when the 14-year-old girl's family faced eviction in February 1998, he tried to help them find a place to live. The 14-year-old "was sad. When we would sit in the office and talk on various occasions, she would cry. All I could do was give my support by letting her know I was there and by being there for her." Said he "may have said in an emergency (she) could stay (at Clear Choices)." Admitted to having a sexual affair with an 18-year-old girl, who is now 20. Denied touching, fondling, performing cunnilingus and having sex with the three accusers, then ages 8, 11 and 12. The girls are now 10, 12 and 13. Said he remembered the now 12-year-old coming to Clear Choices a few times and the now 13-year-old coming more frequently - about five out of seven days. Upon cross-examination by the prosecution, Mr. Ackerman testified Clear Choices did not have a written policy about adults and children being alone in the building, but that "it wasn't recommended. It was always my belief that particularly men shouldn't be alone with kids because it's too easy to get blamed." Testified he met the 18-year-old girl with whom he had an affair while she was a student in his then-wife's class in 1997. Said he primarily had sex with her at Clear Choices. Could not remember if the first time was at Clear Choices. Testified he and the 18-year-old watched a pornographic movie in the upstairs area of Clear Choices. Admitted his bib overalls would sometimes fall down while he was playing Ping-Pong or jumping down the stairs. Testified he gave the then 18-year-old a bag of items, including a pair of "novelty" elephant underwear (with the face of an elephant on the front and a sleeve where the penis fits). Said he did not tell police about the underwear in his initial interview, when they asked if he owned underwear with a picture of an elephant on them, because he did not consider the item underwear but rather a G-string. Admitted to performing cunnilingus on a then 17-year-old girl, who is now 18. Testified he bought the 14-year-old lunches and dinners and gave her gifts, including a $50 check for Christmas, a pager and a pair of leather chaps. Testified he talked with the 14-year-old about problems he was having with his wife and that the girl sometimes overheard his phone conversations with his wife. Testified the 18-year-old girl and his ex-wife both have genital warts, but that he is "just the carrier" and that he does not have them. Admitted he went to the 14-year-old girl's home and talked with both her and her mother, who prohibited her daughter from spending time with Mr. Ackerman. Denied crying and telling the 14-year-old girl's mother that the girl helped him through his problems. "My eyes may have welled up but it was clearly for a different reason," he said. Testified that the Saturday before his April 6, 1999, arrest, he was contacted by a then 13-year-old girl, who is now 14 - the best friend of the then 14-year-old girl - who warned him the 14-year-old girl was being forced by her mother to go to the police. Denied he was told by the 13-year-old that the 14-year-old girl said, "Don't worry, I won't say anything." "There would've been nothing for her to say," he said. Admitted his bib overalls and black denim shorts fell down on numerous occasions but that he "couldn't testify to what the children saw." Said he never stopped to think about wearing underwear. Testified he wrote letters while in jail to the family of a 14-year-old girl, inviting them to dinner "when this was all over." Upon re-examination by the defense, testified that in September 1998, he gave the 18-year-old with whom he had an affair "a bag of things from the building that were inappropriate to be in the building. I assumed she would throw them away." Testified he found out the girl was pregnant in October 1998. "It meant I was going to lose my marriage. It meant I was going to lose everything." Testified he is a recovering alcoholic. "There are certain things that happen when trauma happens. I do slip back into addictive behaviors. I tend to destroy good things." Said he "had a lot of time to think about this." When questioned by the prosecution about why he didn't put underwear on, he said "subconsciously, I was setting myself up to fail. That's the only thing I can think of." Denied being attracted to children. "I'm not a pedophile. Children do not turn me on. I'm not sexually excited by children." Testified he knew the 18-year-old with whom he was having an affair talked to a Times Herald reporter and that she recanted her story. Testified he asked the 18-year-old after his arrest to go to Clear Choices and take some things from the building. Said he threw away nude Polaroid pictures of the 18-year-old girl. Testified he corresponded with the family of a 14-year-old girl, the 18-year-old girl and his wife from his jail cell. Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Theresa Angemi, registered nurse at Port Huron Hospital, testifying for the defense: Testified she interviewed and assisted in the April 6 examination of a then-12-year-old girl who claims Mr. Ackerman molested her. Said the girl told her Mr. Ackerman penetrated her with his tongue and penis, and that he molested her 10 to 15 times from October 1998 to March 1999. Testified the girl told her she did not see Mr. Ackerman from November 1998 to January 1999 because she lived with her grandmother and did not go to Clear Choices during that period. Said the girl told her Mr. Ackerman had bumps on his penis. Also said the girl was given medication to calm her down while the doctor examined her. Time: 15 minutes.

Officer Scott Pike, Port Huron Police Department, testifying for the defense: Testified that he interviewed the then 12-year-old girl who accuses Mr. Ackerman of molestation on March 14, 1999. Said the girl's friend's mother contacted police because the girl claimed her uncle molested her. Testified the girl never mentioned Mr. Ackerman, but did mention she had been penetrated digitally by a different uncle when she was 5 or 7 years old. Time: 10 minutes.

J.C. Miller, employee of Waste Management Corp., testifying for the defense: Said he discovered a pair of leather chaps lying on Runnels Street in Port Huron while he was on rounds for work. Testified he sold them to Mr. Ackerman for $10. Time: two minutes.

Debbie Baker, Central Middle School office employee, testifying for the defense: Said she was in the school's office when another school employee reached Tami Baird on the phone and obtained permission for her then 13-year-old daughter to go out to lunch with Mr. Ackerman for her birthday. Time: two minutes.

Bill Schumacher, former Sober Saturdays chaperone, testifying for the defense: Said he attended Clear Choices 30 times from 1995 to 1999. Said Mr. Ackerman was there most of the time, and that he never saw Mr. Ackerman expose himself. Also said he never went to Clear Choices during the week. Time: two minutes.

Detective Leonard Montoya, 21-year member of the Port Huron Police Department, testifying for the defense: Testified he interviewed the then 9-year-old Port Huron girl who accuses Mr. Ackerman of molesting her at her home on April 6, 1999. Said the girl denied having sexual contact with Mr. Ackerman. Said the girl's stepmother was in the room for the entire interview. Testified he asked Detective Elaine Butts to do a follow-up interview because he thought she was holding back and might be more comfortable talking with a woman. Time: 5 minutes.

Lt. Herbert Welser, 23-year member of the Port Huron Police Department, testifying for the defense: Testified he interviewed a then 11-year-old girl who accuses Mr. Ackerman of molestation on April 5, 1999. He said the girl told him she never touched Mr. Ackerman's genitals, nor did he touch hers. Testified the girl told him she saw her then 12-year-old friend kissing Mr. Ackerman's stomach at Clear Choices. Testified he, Chief William Corbett and Detective Butts interviewed Mr. Ackerman on April 6, 1999, and videotaped the 2-hour and 45-minute session. Time: 20 minutes.

PHOTO CAPTION

LEAVING THE COURTHOUSE: Gerald Ackerman is led by police officers on his way back to the county jail during the noon break Wednesday.

By RALPH W. POLOVICH, Times Herald

TRIAL NOTEBOOK

Second trial's fast pace surprises participants

After only four full days of testimony, both the defense and prosecution lawyers said they expect to wrap things up today. Defense witnesses, including defendant Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman, took the stand Thursday afternoon, after the prosecution rested in the morning. "Seems like they're going through everything much faster than last time," said Bailiff Fred Hayes, who keeps watch outside the courtroom each day. Defense lawyer Sharon Parrish agreed. "I didn't think it'd go quite this fast," she said. The October trial lasted nine days, with more than 60 witnesses. Only four of her 12 scheduled defense witnesses have not yet been called.

Ackerman's testimony draws courtroom crowd

Almost 40 people packed the courtroom Thursday afternoon to hear the defense begin its case. "They all knew Ajax was taking the stand, so everyone came out," Mr. Hayes said. Mr. Ackerman's testimony lasted about one hour and 10 minutes. After his testimony, many left the courtroom.

Judge Deegan rules against allowing tape

Circuit Judge Peter E. Deegan is not allowing any videotaped footage of statements Mr. Ackerman made on previous occasions to be played for the jury. Thursday afternoon, Judge Deegan agreed with Assistant Prosecutor Mona Armstrong and denied admittance of Mr. Ackerman's 2 hour and 45 minute interview with Port Huron police officers on April 6, 1999, hours after his arrest. Both cited a rule of evidence that prohibits a party from bringing in their own past statements as evidence.

The defense rested its case Thursday in former Mayor Gerald Ackerman's retrial on child-molestation charges.

After the last of five defense witnesses testified, St. Clair County Circuit Judge Peter Deegan adjourned the trial until Friday, when the jury was to hear closing arguments.

Ackerman, 43, is being tried on 10 felony counts involving sexual misconduct with three girls, 8, 11 and 12 years old. A jury convicted Ackerman of nine counts of indecent exposure last October but deadlocked on other charges.

The defense rested its case Thursday in former Mayor Gerald Ackerman's retrial on child-molestation charges.

After
the last of five defense witnesses testified, St. Clair County Circuit
Judge Peter Deegan adjourned the trial until Friday, when the jury was
to hear closing arguments.

Ackerman, 43, is being tried on 10
felony counts involving sexual misconduct with three girls, 8, 11 and 12
years old. A jury convicted Ackerman of nine counts of indecent
exposure last October but deadlocked on other charges.

Former Mayor Gerald Ackerman was convicted Friday of 10 felony counts of criminal sexual conduct in his retrial.

After a short deliberation, the 12-member panel came back with the verdict in St. Clair County Circuit Court.

Ackerman, 43, was charged with sexual misconduct with three girls, ages 8, 11 and 12. The incidents allegedly occurred before he was arrested April 6, 1999. Ackerman resigned the next day.

In October, a jury in a separate trial convicted Ackerman of nine counts of indecent exposure but deadlocked on several felony charges. He was sentenced to a year in jail.

During more than an hour on the witness stand Wednesday, Ackerman denied molesting children at Clear Choices, the youth center he founded and directed. It went defunct after his arrest.

Looking at the jury, he said: "I am not a pedophile. Children don't turn me on."

Ackerman did admit to having affairs with women ages 17 and 18, and he also admitted to accidentally exposing himself to children at Clear Choices.

Councilman Cliff Schrader, who served in city government with Ackerman, called the verdict "a terrible, terrible thing for him personally.""I'm very thankful that maybe this thing is finally over and maybe we can have some closure," Schrader said. {MARGINALIA}

Former Mayor Gerald Ackerman was convicted of 10 felony counts in a retrial on charges of sexual misconduct with three underage girls.

Ackerman, the tattooed, motorcycle-riding former mayor once hailed as a role model for overcoming drugs and alcohol, was being retried on 10 felony counts of criminal sexual conduct with three girls aged 8, 11 and 12.

The St. Clair County jury deliberated for about two hours before returning the guilty verdicts Friday.

A jury convicted Ackerman, 43, of nine counts of indecent exposure in October but deadlocked on the 10 felony counts. He was sentenced to a year in jail on the indecent exposure conviction, which is under appeal.

Former Mayor Gerald Ackerman of Port Huron, Mich., was convicted Friday of 10 felony counts in a retrial on charges of sexual misconduct with three underage girls. Ackerman was being retried on 10 felony counts of criminal sexual conduct with three girls.

The St. Clair County jury found Ackerman guilty of having sex and oral sex with 8- and 12-year-old girls. It also found him guilty of forcing an 11-year-old girl to fondle him.

True to the nickname taken from a 1970s gang movie and bestowed upon him by biker brothers, Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman was a street warrior.

The name "Ajax" represented all the former Port Huron mayor seemed to stand for - a fighter who battled and overcame a troubled past with drugs to go on to aid youth and lead a city.

"In the throes of being a dysfunctional young man, I had the name `Ajax' and, all of a sudden, I became clean," he said in a story during his 1997 Cty Council campaign.

Mr. Ackerman's sentencing Monday to at least 18 years in prison on 10 counts of child molestation was the final step in a yearlong struggle that ended his storybook rise to fame. Mr. Ackerman vows he will appeal.

"The guy is a master manipulator," said Tim Schrader, Mr. Ackerman's one-time City Council campaign manager who works at the Harbor for Youth, a nonprofit agency that serves runaway and homeless youth. "I think we felt we could trust him - the police, courts, social workers, everybody. It's disappointing."

An adopted son of a Jewish family, Mr. Ackerman came to Port Huron in 1989, hoping to start a new life.

A recovering alcoholic and drug user who used to ride in Detroit-area motorcycle gangs, he devoted himself to helping young kids avoid the pitfalls he had encountered.

He took classes at St. Clair County Community College and worked with at-risk children at Community Mental Health of St. Clair County.

He felt it was his duty to serve the community that had helped him get back on his feet.

"I'm still an addict," he said in 1997. "I still want to feel good. Giving to others satisfies my needs."

The long-bearded, pony-tailed Mr. Ackerman told kids of his run-ins with police and experiences with alcohol, hoping teens would relate to him and trust him.

"If I was to cut my hair and cut my beard off and put a suit and tie on, I would hope at that point people wouldn't trust me because I wasn't being honest," Mr. Ackerman said.

In 1994, the National Association of Social Workers named Mr. Ackerman its Michigan Public Citizen of the Year for his work in the community.

Mr. Ackerman founded Clear Choices in 1995 when many feared that a lack of youth activities in the city contributed to an increase in youth violence and gang activity.

His popularity with both teens and adults helped him to win the most votes of all candidates in the 1997 City Council election, when he earned the mostly ceremonial mayor's position.

"When you're talking to young people about changing their lives, they need to have something to hold onto and believe," he said the day after his election. "And there I am, live and in person.

"For me, that's the kick of being mayor."

The first public signs of trouble came just months later, when in April 1998 he asked for a $75,000 city-allocated federal grant for Clear Choices. Some city residents questioned the grant and the lack of organized activity at Clear Choices.

"Maybe the citizens of Port Huron need to take a hard look at Clear Choices and Ajax Ackerman," said Dale Kress, a Chestnut Street resident who spoke at a City Council meeting.

Speaking on behalf of Clear Choices was an 18-year-old girl who Mr. Ackerman had counseled and who later admitted she began a six-month affair with him that month.

It ended with her pregnancy.

It was rumors about that pregnancy that spurred the parents of two girls who frequented his youth center to question his relationships with their daughters. The answers led them to police.

In a weepy interrogation with Chief William Corbett on April 6, 1999, the chief commented on the mayor's many good works.

"Well, you know, you (have) been a terrific man," Chief Corbett told him.

"I let a lot of people down right now," Mr. Ackerman replied.

CHRONOLOGY - GERALD ACKERMAN

Summer 1995: Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman, a former alcoholic and small-time troublemaker in suburban Detroit, helps stem youth gang violence in Port Huron. He had earned a community award in 1994 for his work with children and later opened Clear Choices, a center where he worked with troubled youth and offered a refuge for children.

November 1995: Mr. Ackerman, with long beard and hair in a ponytail, runs for City Council and wins seventh and final seat. But a recount shows a tie, and he loses a lottery to A. Herb Robbins. Mr. Ackerman later is appointed to the council when James Relken resigns in 1997.

November 1997: Mr. Ackerman is elected to the City Council with the most votes of all candidates - he is named on 77% of ballots he is later elected mayor by peers on the council and quickly moves to help commit the city to eliminate sewer overflows within 15 years.

April 1998: After learning the donated Clear Choices building must close, Mr. Ackerman searches for a new site. He attempts to secure federal funding through grants administered by the city. He withdraws the request when some residents question the activities of Clear Choices. Speaking on Mr. Ackerman's behalf was an 18-year-old woman, who testified a year later that she started a six-month sexual relationship with him that month. The relationship ends in October, about the time she discovers she is pregnant. A year later, she testifies that the child is his.

February 1999: A mother complains to representatives of DARES, a local support center for sexual abuse victims, that she fears her teen-age daughter has an improper relationship with Mr. Ackerman. The complaint is ignored.

April 1999: Mr. Ackerman's third wife files for divorce on April 1, five days before he is arrested on charges of molesting young girls at Clear Choices. The charges are based on a one-day investigation stemming from a complaint by a woman who fears his relationship with her daughter.

October 1999: Mr. Ackerman is found guilty on nine counts of indecent exposure and he immediately is sentenced to one year in jail. But the jury deadlocks on the major sex charges against him, forcing a new trial.

May 2000: His second trial begins. Mr. Ackerman is found guilty on May 12 of all 10 counts of sexual misconduct involving children.

June 2000: Judge Peter Deegan on Monday sentences Mr. Ackerman to serve a minimum of 18 years and a maximum of 38 years in state prison. Mr. Ackerman says he will appeal his convictions.

PHOTO CAPTION

ON THE ICE: Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman gives "Bridges," the Border Cats mascot, on ride at the 1998-99 season opener.

By MARK R. RUMMEL, Times Herald, 1998 file photo

PHOTO CAPTIONS

COMMUNITY AWARDS: Then-Lt. Gov. Connie Binsfeld and Port Huron Mayor Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman watch a children's fashion show at the Thomas Edison Inn as part of the county Child Abuse / Neglect Council awards program in May 1998.

By MARK R. RUMMEL, Times Herald, 1998 file photo

AS MAYOR: Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman, left, joins U.S. Rep. David Bonior, center, in listening to Douglas Alexander of the St. Clair County Economic Development Alliance during a February 1999, gathering at McMorran Place.

By MARK R. RUMMEL, Times Herald, 1999 file photo

BIKER MAYOR: Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman poses on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle in Port Huron in this March 30, 1998, file photo. Mr. Ackerman had just been elected mayor of Port Huron. He was sentenced Monday to at least 18 years in prison on sex charges.

Weeds and dandelions frame the base of the Clear Choices building, where about 15 months ago youngsters gathered to play pool, hang out with friends and listen to bands play.

The two-story Port Huron building with yellowing paint has changed much since the time when teen-agers and young adults came here to escape the streets and troubled home lives.

"Every once in a while, I'll see someone around, but it's really been empty," said Irving Kesner, 56, who lives next door to the building at 10th and Union streets. "I wonder about the programs, what will happen to them. Some of them were really good for the kids."

Since former Port Huron Mayor Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman was arrested April 6, 1999, on charges of sexually molesting girls at Clear Choices, the center he directed has remained closed.

Mr. Ackerman, who was convicted May 12 on 10 counts of sexually abusing children, was expected to be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. today. Five of the counts carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The probation department's pre-sentence investigation recommends he spend 25 to 50 years in prison.

It is not clear what will happen to the Clear Choices building or the programs.

Clear Choices, which offered a place for teens to socialize, was founded in 1995 by Mr. Ackerman when the city was dealing with a rash of youth violence. The building was bought in July 1998, after the center's original building - at 10th and Bancroft streets - was turned into a parking lot in 1997.

According to the county's Register of Deeds office, no one has been making payments on the building, which is deeded to Clear Choices Inc. In March, Citizens First Savings Bank, which holds the loan, foreclosed on the building and tried to auction it off. No one bid on it.

According to law, Clear Choices Inc. has until Sept. 27 to repay the loan and reclaim the building. Until then, the building remains closed.

Stephen Armstrong of Citizens First Savings Bank's commercial loan department told Port Huron police in November that the bank had changed the lock on the building's back door.

Mr. Armstrong did not return phone calls Friday and could not be reached Sunday.

As for the programs Clear Choices housed, their futures also are unclear.

The center's original, six-member board of directors, appointed by Mr. Ackerman in April 1998 in an effort to secure $75,000 in grants, now is defunct.

At the time of Mr. Ackerman's arrest, only one person sat on the board. Dave Dillon, who was appointed by Mr. Ackerman just a month before the former mayor's arrest, had said he had the authority to make decisions about the facility and planned to continue its programs.

Mr. Dillon could not be reached for comment.

For residents who live near the building, the empty structure stands as a sad reminder of the destructive events that took place there.

Every once in a while, the grass will be cut and weeds maintained, said Audrey Angbrandt, who lives three houses from the building. During the winter months, her husband, Larry, would take his snow blower and clear the sidewalks around the building.

"You had to keep the (sidewalks) up, for safety," said Mrs. Angbrandt, 56. "Periodically (now), it gets pretty shaggy and someone will come and cut the grass."

Mrs. Angbrandt said she misses the liveliness the building once housed.

"It was nice to see the kids down there and it seems a little strange now," she said. "We'd like to see someone down there."

PHOTO CAPTIONS

Gerald Ackerman

YOUTH CENTER CLOSED: A handwritten sign is taped to a window of the Clear Choices youth center, which has been closed since director Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman was arrested on molestation charges. He was to be sentenced today.

Ex-Mayor, Once a hero, is sent to prison in sex caseChicago Tribune - June 20, 2000

The former mayor of Port Huron, a tattooed biker once lauded for
kicking a drug habit and for serving as a role model for troubled youth,
was sentenced Monday to at least 18 years in prison for sexual
misconduct involving children.

St. Clair County Circuit Judge Peter Deegan sentenced Gerald "Ajax" Ackerman to 18 to 36 years on one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct for an act that took place in 1999.

Under truth-in-sentencing guidelines, he must serve the minimum sentence.

Ackerman, 43, also was sentenced to 25 to 38 years on four
additional counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, acts that
took place in 1998, said St. Clair County Assistant Prosecutor Mona
Armstrong. Truth-in-sentencing doesn't apply to those counts.

Ackerman was found guilty of having sexual conduct with three girls, 8, 11 and 12 years old.

Ackerman continued to maintain his innocence and has said he will appeal.

He was elected mayor in November 1997 and resigned the day after his arrest in April 1999.

A former drug addict and alcoholic who sported a ponytail and
leather duds, he used the story of his struggle to help other addicts.

His attorney Peter Van Hoek, a state appellate public defender, said he plans to appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court.

Ackerman was convicted in October 1999 of nine indecent exposure charges. A jury could not agree on some remaining criminal sexual conduct counts, prompting another trial in 2000. The second trial ended with 10 felony convictions, including first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct and child sexually abusive activity.

Ackerman was convicted of molesting girls as young as 8 years old at Clear Choices, a youth center he founded and operated.

He was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years and maximum of 38 years in prison.

In his appeal, Ackerman complained that evidence was admitted of his consensual relationships with two young women who were of the age of legal consent, that an expert was allowed to testify on the behavior of adult sex offenders who "desensitize" their victims, and that his ex-wife was allowed to testify that she feared for her safety.

Because the prosecutors brought forth that evidence, Ackerman also alleged prosecutorial misconduct.

In the appeal's denial, the appellate judges stated there was no abuse of the trial court's discretion.

Van Hoek said he felt his strongest appeal regarded the admission of testimony from two of Ackerman's former lovers, both 17 and of legal consenting age, at the time they had sex with him. Van Hoek said the prosecution used their testimony "to support this theory he had a method of getting young girls to engage in sexual acts with him ... Our argument was they weren't underage girls and it was consensual."

Ackerman has 56 days from the appeal's denial, Wednesday, to appeal to the state Supreme Court.

Most notable about the denial is the fact the appellate decision is published, which means it can be cited as reference in other cases, said Mona Armstrong, St. Clair County senior assistant prosecutor, who also prosecuted Ackerman.

Non-published decisions typically only pertain to the case in question, she said.

"A published opinion is usually utilized if there is an issue that provides clarification or if it's a new issue," Armstrong said.

The new issue was the use of an expert to testify on the behavior of a sex offender. Armstrong said the courts already have case law dealing with behavior of victims.

Port Huron police Chief William Corbett called the case "gut-wrenching" for what Ackerman did to his victims and how the community was shocked its elected mayor could be capable of the crimes.

Ackerman, who wore long hair and a long beard reminiscent of his biker days, moved to Port Huron in 1989, two years after he said he kicked his alcohol and drug habit.

He ran for city council in 1997 and won the most votes, which netted him the mayor's post.

Debbie Larkin, 49, of Riley Township was one of two extra jurors seated in the event of an emergency who didn't get to deliberate after the two-week trial.

She said she made her decision of guilt based on Armstrong's closing arguments in which she showed the jurors the shorts and bib overalls Ackerman wore that repeatedly fell down in front of the victims while he wore no underwear.

Ackerman testified the shorts' zipper and button were broken. Armstrong zipped and buttoned the shorts, then pulled them on and they didn't come apart, the former juror said.

"That cinched it for me," Larkin said, who was surprised to hear of Ackerman's appeal.

Corbett said there is a feeling of relief that the appeal was denied.

"We didn't want to have these young plaintiffs going through this again," Corbett said.

(CNSNews.com) - Former Port Huron, Michigan Mayor Gerald "Ajax"
Ackerman testified in a Michigan circuit court that he had affairs with
two young women and that his pants fell down, accidentally, several
times at the youth center that he ran. Ackerman, however, denied
molesting any girls.

Ackerman is being tried on 25 counts of
criminal sexual conduct against 12 girls ranging in age from 8 to 16.He
has denied the criminal charges.

The former mayor testified that
on four occasions his pants accidentally fell down in front of children.
But he insisted the incidents were accidental.

Ackerman
described one time when his shorts fell. "I was playing Ping Pong with
(one of the alleged victims). The button on my shorts was broken; the
shorts started to fall. But I immediately pulled them back up."

The
former Port Huron mayor also said the zipper and button on the shorts
had been broken for some time before the incident. He also testified
that he wasn't wearing underwear at the time.

Assistant Saint
Clair County, Michigan prosecutor Mona Armstrong asked Ackerman, "You
knew those shorts were broken, yet you still wore them around children
without any underwear. Did you ever say to yourself 'Maybe I should wear
underwear?' Ackerman replied, "yes."

Armstrong also questioned
Ackerman at length about his admitted sexual relationships with two high
school girls. Both young women were above the age of consent, 17, when
the relationships took place. But Circuit Judge Peter Deegan allowed the
testimony after Armstrong argued that Ackerman's liaisons with the two
girls demonstrated a pattern of behavior.

Ackerman acknowledged
"with great pain that those relationships were inappropriate. It
essentially ruined my life, I was a married man."

Kenneth Lord,
Ackerman's attorney, objected to the amount of time spent questioning
the former mayor about his relationships with the young women.

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Survivors ARE Heroes!

The Awareness Center believes ALL survivors of sex crimes should be given yellow ribbons to wear proudly.

Survivors of sexual violence (as adults and/or as a child) are just as deserving of a yellow ribbon as the men and women of our armed forces, who have been held captive as hostages or prisoners of war.

Survivors of sexual violence have been forced to learn how to survive, being held captive not by foreigners, but mostly by their own family members, teachers, camp counselors, coaches babysitters, rabbis, cantors or other trusted authority figures.

For these reasons ALL survivors of sexual violence should be seen as heroes!